Mark Anderson of the Boise Education Association debates a new business item at IEA’s 2024 Delegate Assembly last weekend.
More than 400 Idaho Education Association members gathered in Boise last weekend for the 131st IEA Delegate Assembly in Boise.
From every region of Idaho and representing 65 IEA locals from across Idaho, the delegates came together for this annual business meeting to reinvigorate the IEA spirit, celebrate successes from the past year and set priorities for the year ahead.
Throughout the two-day event, delegates caucused with others from their region, proposed new business items (IEA policy proposals), approved IEA’s annual budget, endorsed new resolutions and heard updates from IEA leadership and staff. The event also serves as the annual registration kickoff for the IEA Summer Institute, which will be held on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, July 24-27.
This year’s DA also marked the kickoff of the IEA AutoPay campaign, a proactive effort to move every IEA member away from using payroll deduction to pay their membership dues because of threats from anti-public education politicians.
NINE RECOGNIZED WITH IEA AWARDS
A highlight of every DA is the annual recognition of education advocates and fellow IEA members for their extraordinary service to public education or the union.
This year, nine individual and organizations were recognized during a special ceremony on Saturday. IEA President Layne McInelly presented the awards. Here’s a quick rundown the awards and recipients:
- Governor Brad Little – Champion of Education Award
- The Coeur Group and Lola Hagadone – Friend of Education Award
- Trent Van Leuven, Mackay Education Association – Marsha Nakamura Award for Teaching Excellence
- Alicia Purdy, Vallivue Education Association — Shane Anderson Outstanding Member Award
- Jennifer Luu, Idaho Falls Education Association – Membership Recruiter Award
- Gena Marker, West Ada Education Association – Larry Caldwell Member Advocacy Award
- Crystal Villanueva, Vallivue Education Association – Sam Cikaitoga Service Award
- LiseAnn Mills, Mountain Home Education Association – Edythe Crowe Award
- Mary Lee Ruch, North Idaho Education Association Retired Chapter – Monica Beaudoin Retired Award
“Many, many people share in the hard work of protecting and improving public education in Idaho, but efforts of some truly shine bright,” McInelly said. “IEA’s annual awards are for those people — IEA members and others — who go above and beyond in their advocacy for public education.”
DA RAISES $27,173 FOR IEA CHILDREN’S FUND
Throughout the 2024 Delegate Assembly, IEA members dug deep on behalf of the IEA Children’s Fund.
The event’s annual two-day silent auction raised $12,110, the raffle brought in $2,510 and delegates offered up $12,553 in cash donations to the fund — bringing DA’s total contribution to the Children’s Fund to $27,173.
DA is the most important fundraiser of the year for the Children’s Fund, which provided 363 need-based grants worth $58,919 to Idaho students and their families since last winter and has provided more than $1 million to thousands of Idaho students and their families since its inception of 1996.
IEA members and others can also CLICK HERE to make a cash donation to the Children’s Fund.