Honorary Service Awards

 The Santa Barbara Area Council of PTAs regrets that it has been unable to host an Honorary Service Awards ceremony in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This was due to the Santa Barbara County health restrictions in place during this time. We hope to have a reception next year to honor the teachers, staff, parents and community members who pour themselves into the lives of the students in our community. If you are interested in helping us host a Council or District reception, please contact Marina King. Thank you to the many PTA units who recognized the incredible work of their school community. And thank you for supporting the California State PTA’s Grants and Scholarships Program by purchasing awards and certificates through the PTA Store.

FOUNDERS DAY
Founders Day is a perfect time to renew our dedication to the purposes of the PTA that were defined by our founders more than a century ago. Each year in February, the PTA honors the three founders as well as past and present PTA leaders. PTA also attempts to increase awareness of its members and the community by highlighting achievements, activities, projects and goals. Therefore, the Santa Barbara Area Council of PTAs celebrates Founders Day during our annual Honorary Service Awards reception in May.

Origin of Founders Day
The Founders Day celebration was created in 1910 by Mrs. David O. Mears, a charter member of the National Congress of Mothers founded by  Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst in Washington, DC on February 17, 1897. The Founders Day observance has continued through the change of organization names in 1925 to the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the uniting in 1970 with the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers founded in 1926 by Selena Sloan Butler, to become the National PTA.

Issues concerning immigrants, homeless children and families, the unemployed and the uneducated and numerous health and safety concerns still need attention. However, through PTA advocacy to enact and enforce laws, our children’s health is better protected and children are better fed, housed and educated, with parents more involved in their upbringing. The vision of our founders has been realized in many ways, and it is now up to us to continue the vision.

Santa Barbara County PTA