ACTEAZ News  Exec. Director’s Letter


Executive Director’s Letter – March
Submitted by Pam Ferguson


Dear ACTEAZ Members,

Happy Spring to all of you.

The following is an update of what has been happening in your ACTEAZ Association.

First, we wanted to report that we had the largest attendance for our 20th Anniversary for the ACTEAZ/ACOVA Mid-Winter Leadership Conference at the Prescott Resort and Conference Center in February. There were 205 attendees and over 34 sessions. Thanks to all presenters who shared dynamic information and facilitated great discussions. Chris Thomas, from the Arizona School Boards Association, who is their General Counsel and Associate Executive Director, was our Keynote Speaker and shared “Arizona Public Education 2020: Where Are We – And How Did We Get Here”. This was great historical and current legislative information for us to reflect on.

HUGE Shoutout to the ACTEAZ Fellows who once again broke the record hosting the Auction at Mid-Winter for the ACTEAZ Scholarship Fund. Thanks also to attendees who brought items for the evening event. ACTEAZ also had 20 exhibitors at the event and the money from the exhibitors also went into the Scholarship Fund!

ACTEAZ Elections

Election Application information is now available on our website. This year we will have elections for President-Elect, Treasurer and Member at Large. Applications are due April 16, 2020.

Summer Conference, CTE: Beyond the Classroom

It is hard to believe that we are now four months out from our 45th Anniversary of our ACTEAZ Summer Conference. Great News on Many fronts that we would like to share with you. The ACTEAZ Link for Summer Conference is arizonactecon.com

  • ACTEAZ Exhibitors opened on March 9th and Westin is already getting close to sold out for exhibitor space. We do have booths at Hilton El Conquistador but those are going too. Many exhibitors sign up for a booth at the hotel where the program areas they mostly work with are located.
  • We are excited to tell you this year that on Monday and Tuesday we have dedicated Exhibitor Times so you can visit and talk to the Exhibitors. No sessions will be offered during those Exhibitor Times so you can visit them with no pressure that you are missing a session.
  • There will also be special drawings held in the Exhibitor Area during those times and you will love the new Exhibitor Layout.

Conference Hotel Rooms

Monday, March 16th the conference hotel rooms opened at Hilton El Conquistador Westin La Paloma, as well as the overflow hotel at the Paloma Village Embassy Suites. The room cost is $100 per room plus tax except for Embassy Suites which is $110.00 plus tax since they do breakfast and snacks in the afternoon. If you have any questions about hotel rooms, please e-mail Pam at [email protected].

Conference Registration

Online registration is now available. Thanks to the Arizona Department of Education, ACTEAZ Affiliates and all the Presenters who submitted these great sessions for us to participate in. To register, visit the summer conference website at arizonactecon.com.

If you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Shelly York at [email protected]

Conference Keynote

Jason Schechterle will be speaking Sunday Evening, July 19th at the Hilton El Conquistador 5:30 pm during the conference keynote. Prepare to be Inspired with his topic:

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

The premise of this session is:

  • Overcoming Adversity
  • Life Change
  • The Power of Love
  • The Human Spirit
  • Embracing Your Challenges
  • Always Be the Best Version of You
  • Never Giving In, Never Giving Up

ACTEAZ is here for you. Please let us know if you have any questions. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you at our 45th ACTE Conference Celebration!