Empty Officer Positions

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." - Ralph Nader

 Hello everybody. For those of you who are not aware, there are six vacant officer positions on the Regional Council. We would really love to have all of these positions filled by mid-October, so that we can avoid any set backs that could occur as an effect of these vacancies. Regional Officers attend monthly meetings and help with the planning of regional events, fundraisers, and projects. Being part of the council is a wonderful leadership opportunity that lets you have a huge part in the growth of the region and work with some really great people. If you are even a little bit interested, please talk to your advisor about it or contact me for further information. The form avaliable online is to apply for the 2011-2012 Regional Council, so if you are interested in being part of this year's council, you can email me for the application or just change the dates on the online version.

 We are aiming to have a full council for the next year as well, so be sure to consider applying then also. Applications for next year's Regional Council will be due on the same date as Regional Fair registration. I will be posting more information on this as the deadline approaches (it will be in February). For anyone interested in applying for any position (current year or next year), it is important that you begin working on your application early enough to recieve the necessary signatures and still make the deadline. We would also like to see members of the Blue Ridge Region apply for some State Officers positions! State Officer positions open many doors and allow you to be the part of planning all state events (Technosphere, Leadership Academy, etc.). I hope to see your name on a ballot in the future.

 The State Vice President position is also currently vacant. Applications for the position were due in June and several remarkable students will be campaigning for it. At the September Exectutive Council meeting, the candidates will make speeches and then the Executive Council (State Officers, Regional Presidents, and the Immediate Past President) will vote. I look forward to announcing the sucessful election.

- Jill Pritts, Blue Ridge Region President

Kicking Off the Year!

"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." - George S. Patton

 Hello Blue Ridge TSA! The Regional Council has been hard at work all summer to ensure that this is the best year we've had so far. With so many plans for the upcoming year, it's extremely important that we stay in touch with each chapter every step of the way.

 Some things to look forward to:

• A Fall Rally: The Fall Rally is an event held in the fall by each region that is designed to motivate the students to get involved throughout the year by offering break out sessions focusing on leadership and problem solving skills.
• A Regional Community Service Project: This project will give students the oppertunity to give back to their communities and expand the influence of TSA in the region.
• The Regional Spring Conference: Students will be able to compete against other students from the region to qualify in certain contests for the State level.
• A Region Attire Program: This program will help students that cannot afford to buy TSA attire by collecting attire from past members or that current members have outgrown. (See the link on the left for more information)
• Installation of new Regional Council Members: Students are encouraged to apply for the six avaliable council positions for the 2010-2011 school year.
• The State Leadership Conference, or Technosphere: The State level conference gives sutdents the oppertunity to compete against students from across the state, run for state office, and spend time with other exceptional TSA members.

 More information about all of these events will be coming out as the dates approach, so keep an eye out! As your representative on the Executive Council, please let me know any ideas you have for the regional, state, or national TSA associations so that I may take actions into making them a reality. You have elected a remarkable group of State Officers for this year, who have already been hard at work to ensure that you have an amazing year. I look forward to keeping you involved on all the details and plans of our region, and as always, just shoot me an email if you have any questions!

- Jill Pritts, Blue Ridge Region President