President's message

CSEA siblings,

It is the eve of our 97th Annual Conference and I am excited to join our dedicated member leaders and delegates when we gather in Reno. This is CSEA’s largest and most important event of the year because it is where we practice our unique member-governed democracy and make decisions that will guide our union into the future.

We will hear from inspirational speakers, reflect on our achievements from the past year and look forward to our goals for the next year. We will also share stories with each other, learn new skills and honor those who embody the spirit of CSEA. Best of all, we will be together as one CSEA family to celebrate each other and strengthen our bonds as union siblings.

For the second year in a row, any member will be able to watch the business proceedings and joyful celebrations of Annual Conference from wherever you happen to be. All events occurring on the conference floor will be live streamed for any member to view. All you need to do is log in to the CSEA website and go to the Conference Hub at CSEA.com/Conference, then click on “Live Stream.” I hope you will join us virtually!

Annual Conference also marks the culmination of months of planning and hard work by our staff, particularly our Member Benefits, Communications, Executive, Training and Office Services teams. Their work on this year’s spectacle began as soon as last year’s conference ended and has steadily ramped up to this final week of making sure every detail is in place. I cannot thank them enough for all they do to make our members feel welcome, excited and proud to be part of the distinguished and professional organization that is CSEA.

Members celebrating each other also happens outside of Annual Conference, and the Appreciating Classified Employees (ACE) program is one example. Each year, the association president is tasked with designating ACE chapters from each area to host job-shadowing events with their administrators and community leaders that demonstrate hands-on the essential role classified employees play in our schools.

This issue’s cover story shares those chapters’ experiences during their events, which were held during Classified School Employee Week (CSEW). I hope you find their stories inspirational and that you will consider holding your own ACE events to celebrate next year’s CSEW, because any chapter can hold these job-shadowing events, not just those selected as official ACE chapters. To learn all about hosting your own ACE event, visit CSEA.com/ACE.