Arkansas Valley District: Chaffee County Representative: Rhonda Hansen We have been very busy the last couple of months.  I April, we were honored to cosponsor a provider/volunteer appreciation dinner with Avery Parsons Elementary School.  Thank you to Stefani Franklin, Avery Parsons Elementary School Principal, for this wonderful partnership.  We were all treated to a fabulous dinner.  Thank you so much to Tami Veers and her bery talented staff. Arkansas Valley district has continued to be a strong voice and advocate for saf car travel for children.  We are still trying to find someone to replace Colorado State Patrol Trooper Sam Trujillo, who graciously gave of hi time for many years to partner with us in our annual car safety checks.  We are still able to provide car seats to families in our community who need them and hope to resume our car seat safety checks in the near future. As always, Arkansas Valley District is a strong member ot the Chaffee County Early Childhood Council.  Through this work, we have been a strong advocate for family child care providers and increased quality for the children in our county. A big thank you to all of our members for their continued dedication.

Boulder County District: Boulder County Representative: Marcia Seegers The Boulder County District had a great Spring Season.  The Board and committee members were involved in a variety of events, starting with the CAEYC conference.  From there we collaborated on the annual Parade of Classrooms which was part of our Month of the Young Child celebration. Over 125 Early Childhood educators visited a selection of four or five classrooms from a group of 21 providers.   This is a popular event with our providers who meet after the Parade for discussion and lunch.  The culmination of our Month of the Young Child  activities was our annual Provider Appreciation Banquet where we celebrate our profession.  Close to 200 participants wined and dined together as we presented our two outstanding awards.   Darlene Lorrain, from Alaya Preschool, was chosen for the Educator of the Year Award.   Her inspiring words of what makes a good teacher entered the hearts of all present.  Betty Kellogg began her career in 1942 and was awarded The Hawkins Lifetime Achievement Award.  Her stories of our District's very beginning as well as her achievements, gave us a sense of personal history and pride in the dedication of those who came before us.  Betty and Darlene, we salute you.   What a great evening of celebration!  Our Board and committee members are creative, dedicated, and worked hard to make this a special evening.  As our year comes to a close, we solidified our Board for the next year.  Matt Eldred, Executive Director of The Acorn School, will assume the role of our President and we enthusiastically welcome him.  Our Past President, Linda Miron, received our profound thanks for her five years of service to the organization.  Her strong leadership, dedication and hard work contributed to the growth, effectiveness, and strong presence of the organization in our community.  We end this year’s service on a very high note with our Annual Retreat in July to welcome in our new board and pass the torch.  I have been honored to work with these people, my colleagues.

Delta/San Juan District: Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel Counties Representative: Carol Phelps Delta/San Juan Council is working with a local and regional council to provide scholarships to child care providers.  They also sent out appreciation letters and gift certificates to all providers in May.

Denver Metro District: Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, Park Counties Representative: Barbara Sawyer Denver Metro recently hosted two workshops presented by Rosemarie Allen of Colorado Department of Human Services.  Ms. Allen shared information about the new group leader requirements so that participants had a clear picture of what is required for individuals to be considered group leader qualified in May, 2010.  As of that date all group leaders must have successfully completed ECE 101 and at least one other early childhood 3 credit class.  The second class may be at the individual’s discretion.  In addition, Expanding Quality for Infants and Toddlers, whether taken for credit or not, will be accepted to meet the new requirement.  Rosemarie suggested that individuals who are enrolled in a class that meets these requirements during the spring 2010 semester will have until the end of the semester to meet the qualifications. The Denver Metro board is looking forward to JIFFY 2010.  Lisa Murphy – The Ooey Gooey Lady – will be presenting a full-day workshop on January 23, 2010.  More details will be released as they are available – the conference will be held at St. Luke’s Little School in Highlands Ranch.

Fremont County District: Fremont County Representative: Angie Shehorn

Larimer County District: Larimer County Representative: Albertha Moorlag   Summer has arrived, but Larimer County District of CAEYC work continues in the building of this professional organization, trainings, and community outreach.    DRESS FOR SUCCESS - NOT SEX CESS  was the topic for a training on June 6 from 9:00 - until 11:30.  Lorna Greene, ECC Professional Development coordinator and part time professor at Front Range Community College was the presenter. The training was fun and light hearted, but also sent the message that as professionals we take classes, implement developmentally appropriate practices in our centers and homes, provide pleasant and safe environments, learn how to be good role models for children in speaking, writing, interactions, etc., as well as the importance to be role models in our dress.  Board members and educators modeled inappropriate dress as well as casual, comfortable, and appropriate dress for work with young children.  The Reporter Herald interviewed Ms. Greene and Albertha Moorlag for the article included in the June 5, 2009 Newspaper.    Several board members' terms of office are coming to a close in July.  Nomination forms were available at the May 2nd  MOVE TO LEARN, LEARN TO MOVE training, emailed to all for whom the board had email addresses, and will be included in the summer Newsletter.  Positions to be filled are: Vice President, Secretary, District Representative, Community, and Family Childcare liaisons. Voting will take place in July, along with a "Pass the Torch Ceremony".   Board member Beverly Hall will be attending the WSLN (Western States Leadership Network) Conference in June.  The board voted to provide financial support.  In turn, Beverly will write a paper on the experience and relay information to the board and interested members on the information she gained by attending the leadership conference.   A grant for $1,000.00 from Sam's Foundation was received and will be used for trainings, membership, and resources.  Additional donations have been requested and received.  Scott Burns from Lakeshore and a Target Store provided wonderful door prizes for our Move to Learn - Learn to Move exercise event on May 2nd.   Larimer County District of CAEYC wishes all members a wonderful summer.

Mesa District: Mesa County Representatives:  Paula Gallegos Mesa District of CAEYC set 3 goals for this year.  Success was noted under each goal. Goal 1: To recruit and rejuvenate the early childhood profession in Mesa County.  An Early Childhood Expo was held at Western Colorado Community College to educate the community and those interested in the early childhood field.  Presentations were offered by the Home Care Association, Center Directors, Head Start, School Dist 51 Preschool Program, Center Care Licensing, and Home Care Licensing.  An early childhood provider’s appreciation celebration was held with over 100 providers attending.  Businesses supported this event by donating a variety of door prizes. Goal 2: Develop a partnership with Western Colorado Community College (WCCC).  The MDG fall conference and the EC Expo were held at WCCC.  WCCC has waived registration fees for our Group Leader Cohort and have offered discounted tuition costs for the CDA program.  Goal 3: Pyramid Model Training for Trainers.  In partnership with our local EC council, the Partnership for Children and Families, this training will take place in July and August.  Mesa District has been awarded a $40,000 professional development grant from Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation.  With this grant a second Group Leader Cohort will be selected and a Director Development Cohort will be selected.  The Group Leader Cohort 2 will provide the opportunity for 10 individuals to complete the 2 college classes that meet the 2010 group leader qualification.  The Director Development Cohort will provide the opportunity for 10 individuals to make progress toward their director qualification with 2 college classes.  The Director Development Cohort will increase leadership and networking skills.  All Cohort members will complete 2 college classes with mentoring support, all this is paid for by the grant. Our fall conference will be held Saturday, November 7 at WCCC.  The conference topic will be PLAY.  Our keynote speaker is Jane Kitson aka Mother Goose (http://www.janekitson.com/ ).  Anyone interested in presenting at this conference please email mesadistrictgroup@email.com . Our new board is Chair – Paula Gallegos, Secretary – Denise Smith, Treasurer – Sue Tarr, Member at Large – Stephanie Stelljas and Lora Rohlman.  We will recruit a Vice Chair in the fall.

Mountain District: Eagle, Lake, Summit Counties Representative: Chantelle Kiefer

Northeast Colorado District: Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma Counties Representative: Terry Curtis

Northwest Colorado District: Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt, Counties Representative: Tami Havener

Pikes Peak District: Cheyenne, Elbert, El Paso, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Teller Counties Representative: Mary Willis

Southeast Colorado District: Baca, Bent, Crowley, Custer, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo Counties Representative:  Renee Monohan

Roaring Forks District: Garfield, Pitkin Counties Representative: Season Doebler

San Luis Valley District: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache Counties Representative: Patti Newman

Southwest Colorado District: Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma Counties Representative:  Heather Taylor

Weld County District: Morgan, Washington, Weld Counties Representative: Becky Ward-Smith We had a Membership Celebration on May 11th for all current Weld District members.  Robin Dolgin was our speaker, focusing on “blooming where we are planted”.  A delicious dinner and dessert along with door prize drawings made for a nice evening to recognize the hard work of early childhood professionals.  Board member elections were held and we welcome several changes to the Weld District Board.  Amber Arens becomes our Training Coordinator, Janet Flaugher the Secretary, and Julie Skinner becomes the Treasurer.  Debbie Becker and Peggy Johnson join us on the board as Members at Large.  Becky Ward-Smith will continue as the President, Correen Martinez as Vice President, Kathy Hamblin and Karen Fawcett remain as Members at Large.  We are sorry to see Laura Strong and Marilyn Fuqua step down from the Board and thank them for their hard work over the past several years! We want to encourage all current Weld District members to join the Facebook group!  Information about trainings and other events are posted on this site and you can network with others.  If you are interested in finding out more information about the Weld District group please e-mail us at weldcaeyc@yahoo.co