CAT Tracks for February 19, 2005 ON A PERSONAL NOTE...

To all who attended the dedication ceremony for the Cairo Community Education Center on February 17th...THANK YOU!...for helping to make the event one that will be remembered for years to come. EXTREMELY positive feedback has been received from ALL segments of the community.

I KNOW that you enjoyed the Reg Weaver "experience"...he is one dynamic individual. Now you understand how "Reg" rose to the position that he currently occupies...spokesperson for the 2.7 million members of the National Education Association. We can feel proud and rest assured that our message will be heard. One does NOT ignore Reg Weaver!

To all who were invited, but did not attend...shame on you! Your doctor's note is due by the end of the business day on Tuesday! (You DID miss out on a very special opportunity...your "bad"!)

Except for one embarrassing incident - which was graciously overlooked by President Weaver (who will probably use it as a humorous example of "members behaving badly" in a future speech) - the day went exactly as I had hoped.

On the way to the dedication after meeting Reg's plane in Paducah, I reminded him that our very first meeting was in August 1978...when he came to Cairo in his capacity as Vice President of the IEA...to "rally the troops" in their fight to get the CAT recognized by the Cairo Board of Education as the sole bargaining representative for certified employees. Reg's speech...along with the "stepping forward" of fellow respected teachers...prompted this non-member to walk a picket line the very next day. Been walkin' and talkin' ever since! When you get "Reggicized", its effects are permanent.

So when President Weaver was invited by CSD #1 to speak at Thursday's dedication of the Cairo Community Education Center, it was the closing of a circle...a journey of 27 years...from confrontation in 1978 to collaboration in 2005. May the circle remain unbroken.

Thanks...again...to all who participated, but especially to President Reginald Weaver of the National Education Association!

Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!