I have to take the time to thank the wonderful women that I have had the pleasure of working with on the PTO Board. Our events run seamlessly at VFES and it's because these amazing women have dedicated so much time and effort to their positions on the board. They are not thanked enough for the countless hours that they dedicate to making our school a great place for the students, teachers and parents. In addition to being board members, most hold other major chairperson positions at VFES. We all had a great working relationship and it was a pleasure getting to know them better over the past several years.

We say goodbye to the following board members:

Jenni DiMaio has been on the board of the PTO for seven years and began as VP of Fundraising. Most notably, as VP of Clubs, she designed our current comprehensive and super-organized clubs program. This year Jenni returned to being the VP of Fundraising and did a terrific job increasing participation in our fundraising programs. Jenni does a ton of beautiful decorating for our events and has chaired many positions around the school. She is always willing to help and gives 110%. Thank you for your incredible dedication to the PTO for so long!

Natalie Sudall has been on the PTO for four years as our Treasurer. Natalie was able to give us access to QuickBooks online and set up several reports for chairs to make tracking financials easier. She has spent countless hours making journal entries, writing checks and giving us up-to -date reports. She always helped at PTO events and chaired other positions around the school. Natalie is moving on to Treasurer at VFMS and they are lucky to have her!

Julie Borrelli has been on the board for four years as VP of the Publishing Center. She took over the Publishing Center at a time when its future was uncertain. Did you know that running the Publishing Center used to be a paid position?? Julie learned the process, re-organized everything into volunteer jobs and now the Publishing Center publishes around 700 books a year. Julie's passion has been amazing and really appreciated!

Sharon Forge has been on the board for two years as Assistant Treasurer.   Sharon is super-efficient, thorough, and if you needed a cash box - it was there! Despite the increasing demands of her job, Sharon always had deposits completed on time and she spent extra time at the end of the year analyzing our financials. Sharon did everything with a smile and her perspective was a huge help to the board.

Lynne Spangler has been on the board for two years as the VP of Communication. Lynne managed the Sunshine Fund, which was heavily used this year, and provided us with detailed and thorough meeting minutes. Lynne is a lawyer and provided a great legal perspective to the board. In addition to her board duties, Lynne is a great volunteer and has chaired and helped with several events in the school over the years!

Finally, we are grateful to Tracie Adkison and Janelle Burdette who have been on the board for one year and co-chaired the VP of Socials role. Tracie and Janelle were the only people who stepped up to take this role and they did a great job despite a huge learning curve and full time jobs. It was great getting to know them better this year!

We can't forget to thank the following board members who will be returning next year:

Monica Moore worked tirelessly this year as the VP of Volunteers filling volunteer positions and creating online sign up forms for Recess Laps and our chairperson positions. Monica is excellent with technology and really puts a lot of time and effort into her job. She cares deeply about getting the right volunteers into the right roles at VFES!

Laura Wurzer jumped into the role of VP of Clubs and I didn't need to worry about a thing. Laura took over the role and ran with it, efficiently and seamlessly. We added several new clubs this year and finding, vetting and hiring instructors is no easy task in addition to organizing all of the kids that sign up for the clubs. Laura works full time, but made running clubs look easy.

Please take the time to thank these amazing women for all of their hard work!

Raquel Hunter, PTO President