Following is the report I will be giving to the Southeast Region MSTA tomorrow.

Two hundred years ago this past Saturday, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis to complete the expedition they had departed on nearly two and a half years earlier. They had just explored the Louisiana Purchase and had been given up for dead by the citizens of the young country. When they returned, the pair was treated as national heroes. On their return to Washington, D.C., balls and galas were held in towns they passed through. One senator told Lewis it was as if he had just returned from the moon. The men received double pay and 320 acres of land; Lewis was named governor of the Louisiana Territory; Clark was made Indian agent for the West and brigadier general of the militia. It was a milestone in our nation’s history that has been celebrated and taught in history classes for years.

Nearly fifty years later, 110 educators in Missouri met in the same city to form what would become the Missouri State Teachers Association. They came from all over the state * by horse and buggy, train, or steamboat. One hundred fifty years later, MSTA has had many milestones. We’ve even made it to Washington, D.C. We’ve thrown a few balls and galas over the years, but we really haven’t been treated as national heroes. Our accomplishments aren’t known by many and we definitely haven’t received double pay. Why? Because MSTA’s influence isn’t in the heart of the nation * it’s in the hearts of children.

MSTA is a state organization, with headquarters and staff to support its purposes. MSTA is a regional organization, with offices and field staff to serve and support local leaders. MSTA is a local organization, with over hundreds of community teachers associations to support and influence local education. MSTA is a personal organization, with over forty thousand members who teach in classrooms, drive busses, serve meals, take temperatures, file papers, and influence one child at a time. There is only one purpose for the services and structure of MSTA * kids first.

With that in mind, we are entering the season of resolutions and legislative priorities. The weeks leading up to the annual Convention give members the opportunity to influence the policies of their association. I would like to encourage all members to take a serious look at the resolutions of our association and take advantage of the processes put in place for the grassroots operation of MSTA. The ownership afforded members by these processes is a very unique benefit of membership.

I hope your year is off to a great start, and as we continue our journey together this year, I look forward to many accomplishments. When we come to the end of the journey, I hope that we will be able to look back and realize that, even if we’re not treated as national heroes, as long as we kept kids first, we have done what is right * we’ve accomplished our mission.