Martha Polk Counseling Association
Fall 2007
The Martha Polk Chapter of TCA is off to a great start. Martha Polk serves all counties in West Tennessee with the exceptions of Shelby, Tipton and Fayette. During the summer, the President and President-Elect attended the LDC conference in Cookeville, TN. They were able to learn some new things and meet new people.
The first meeting of the school year was held on September 10, 2007. Nicole Cobb, State Director of School Counseling was the presenter for the evening. She presented us with new information regarding school counselors and updated information about the TN School Counseling Model. Our host school was the University of TN at Martin, who also fed us a delicious meal. The admissions director of the college also gave us updated information regarding the college admission process. During that meeting, we had two new members join us. They were each given a choice of a portfolio or polo shirt as a token of our appreciation for joining. All counselors were encouraged to register for both the Counselors’ Conference in Franklin and the School Counselor Institute coming up in February. Our executive council met during the last week of August.
We held our second meeting on November 12, 2007 at Jackson State Community College. The College’s President welcomed us and presented us with updated information about the college. They also served us a delicious meal. Along with the meal we were entertained by Innovations, which is their school choir. They did a lovely job. Our presenter for the evening was Joani Arnold, LPC for Active Living, LLC. She spoke about how to deal with children whose parents are going through a divorce. The information was very informative and she told us how important it is for the educator to be positive at school, because things may not be as positive at home. During the meeting President Springfield presented a new program to the counselors that she would like to see implemented at the local level. She presented a Mentoring Program for new counselors. This program will allow new counselors to work with seasoned counselors who have five or more years of experience. The program was motioned and seconded and agreed upon. Counselors signed a sheet in agreeance to work with new counselors and new counselors signed their name agreeing to be mentored. The seasoned counselors will serve as a support system for the new counselors and present them with new ideas and alternatives for counseling. New membership was encouraged for first time visitors and counselors were encouraged to attend the Counselors’ Conference in Franklin and the School Counselor Institute in February. A nominating committee was also developed and counselors were encouraged to contact one of the members to nominate someone for the upcoming positions as President-Elect and Treasurer in 2008. Our next meetings will be held at Lambuth University on February 25, 2008 and Union University on April 28, 2008. The MPCA has also decided to host a summer workshop to all counselors. The meeting place for the workshop will be held at Lambuth University. A cost for registration has not yet been determined; however, registration information will be given out during February’s meeting. The executive council met in late October.
Goals for the Martha Polk Counseling Association
Dionne Springfield, MPCA President
731-686-0841 office
731-686-9829 fax