Nominate a Friends of Hawthorne Board Leader

Friends of Hawthorne is seeking to form a Nominating Committee to nominate our FOH Board of Directors for the 2024-25 school year. We'd welcome 2 - 4 people, ideally with students from across several grades, to help find and nominate potential Friends of Hawthorne Board members for next year. Here's an easy way to either make new connections or use your existing community knowledge to help the school!

Important dates for Friends of Hawthorne Board of Directors Elections:

  • Nominations are due by Friday, April 5, 2024.

  • Nominations to be announced at our FOH meeting on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

  • Deadline to become a PTA member (scholarships available) to vote for or be a candidate is Friday, April 5, 2024.

  • Friends of Hawthorne will hold its yearly elections on Thursday, May 9, 2024.

About FOH positions (more info here)

President/Co-President: The president is the presiding officer and the official representative of the association. PTA handbook with detailed information on the President position.

Vice President: The vice president shall perform the duties of president in the absence or inability of that officer to serve, and shall assist the president when called upon. It is anticipated that the vice president will be the presumptive nominee for president the following year. PTA handbook with detailed information on the Vice-President position.

Secretary: The secretary shall take minutes and record all business transacted at each meeting (board and general membership) of the unit/council, and of the executive committee, making sure all minutes are complete. PTA handbook with detailed information on the Secretary position.

Co-Treasurer(s): The treasurer is elected by the members to be the authorized custodian to manage the funds of the PTA on behalf of the membership and the board of directors. PTA handbook with detailed information on the Treasurer position.

Advocacy Lead: The Advocacy Lead helps our community stay involved in advocacy efforts at the school, district, city, county and state levels by managing and guiding a committee of other community members. This advocacy committee helps our community stay informed and engaged, and ensures that the voices of our students and families are heard by the leaders who make decisions that impact our school.

Member(s) at Large: The Member(s) at Large have full voting rights, have an advisory role and may fill any committee leadership role voted upon by a majority of the Executive Board.

You can also email any of the current office holders for more information about their position:

Additional Information about nominations and elections

  • Nominations can also be made on the floor at the FOH General Meeting the day of the election, but only with the consent of the nominee.

  • To be elected to any of the FOH officer positions, candidates must be a current member of FOH at least 15 days prior to being elected.

  • Membership is $15 and financial assistance is available if needed. Any person is also welcome to sponsor other persons to be members of the PTA.

  • Any person voting in the PTA election must be a current member of FOH (which requires $15 PTA dues).

Additional information on the election process and the officer positions can be found in the WSPTA Bylaws, the WSPTA Nominating Committee & Elections Handbook and in the FOH PTA Standing Rules

If you need an informational flyer to distribute in your community, please download the FOH PTA Nomination and Elections flyer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Friends of Hawthorne (FOH)? 
Friends of Hawthorne (FOH) is a group of volunteers that include Hawthorne parents, other family members, teachers, staff, and community members whose sole purpose to help the students at Hawthorne Elementary School. FOH is an officially registered Parent Teacher Association, also called a PTA. We help our children by doing many things which can include recruiting and coordinating volunteers, organizing after-school education events, and much more. FOH is also a fundraising group that raises money for computers, playground equipment, audio / visual systems in our theater, student field trips, and teacher development and training.

Why does Hawthorne need a Parent Teacher Association (PTA)? 
The PTA facilitates the discussion about and organizes ways to promote quality education, expand the arts, encourage community involvement, and work for a healthy environment and safe neighborhoods. In past years, Friends of Hawthorne supported and/or organized a number of events and projects, such as Open Gym, Quarantine Academies, Winter Festival, Book Fair, Cookie Dough, Math and Literacy Nights, multicultural events, Auctions, P-patch volunteer days and maintenance, the new playground structure, and a major update of the school library collection.

Why do we vote for officers and have elections? 
Part of being an organization that raises money for our children, etc. requires that we have accountability on our team. This requires leadership, as well as support roles. In order to have a leadership team it requires that we have a vote to determine what five officers will lead FOH. Additionally, once the officer election is over, the leadership team will be recruiting chair positions such as Volunteer Coordinators, Membership Chair, Fundraising Chair, Legislative Chair, Events Chair and Communications Chair. As we reach out to you about these elections please take a moment to think if you would be interested in participating in any way – or if you know anyone who would be interested in participating.

Who are we voting for? 
In the Spring we will be voting for five officer positions at Hawthorne. These positions are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Members at Large.

To be elected to any of the FOH PTA officer positions, candidates must be a current member of the PTA, which requires $10 PTA dues 30 days prior to the election. If you need any financial assistance in joining the PTA – please be aware that it is available. Also, you can either sponsor, or be sponsored to join the PTA (meaning you can pay for another parent, teacher, administrator or community member).

What happens after I nominate someone? 
Once the Nomination Committee receives a nomination, the committee will ensure that they are a current PTA member. Also, they might ask for a meeting or for a resume to better understand the qualifications of the candidate for the position. After the deadline for nominations, the Nomination Committee will review all nominations and provide a Nominating Committee Report to the board of directors (Report must be given to all members 15 days prior to the general membership meeting at which elections will be held).

Can nominations be made on the floor of the General Meeting on election day? 
Yes, nominations can also be made on the floor of the General Meeting on election day. However, the nominee must have given/must give consent before or during the meeting so that members can proceed with voting.

Additional questions? Please email us at: elections@friendsofhawthorne.org.