Post date: Feb 18, 2010 5:27:20 AM
9-10-15
Welcome back for another exciting school year. On the eve of our professional development day for school counselors, I am reflecting on the past school year and thinking about all of the wonderful opportunities in store for this school year. Being a school counselor is an extremely demanding job. Unless someone has been a school counselor, they can not begin to understand the challenges we face. But as I think of all the challenges, I also think about how fortunate I have been to be associated with so many wonderful professional school counselors. I have learned so much about myself, leadership, and starting organizations over the past two years. Starting the Brevard School Counselors' Association has been one of my biggest personal growth opportunities and I am eternally grateful for all of the support I've had from our BSCA members. I will be completing my tenure as president and turning over the reigns to my good friend, charter member, and colleague Dr. Carmilla Solomon. I am so hopeful, under her leadership, BSCA will blossom into the amazing organization I know it will be. I intend to continue to support her in all things related to BSCA. I would like to give a shout out to our charter members: Christine Barbuto, Paula Bewerse, Sarah Brothers, Angie DeVoss, Judy Ginty, Laura McGlothlin, Jacqueline Small, Betty Bobay, Joyce Cochran, Janet Gallagher-Robertson, Jo-Ann Rosemont, and Dawn Southhall-Joly. You are the pioneers and we could not have started this organization without your support. Thank you to our new members Rose Topal and Jennifer Davidson, we are glad to have you on board. 2016 is going to be a great year for our organization.
Smiles,
Lynnette
1-26-15
The "Day on the Hill", sponsored by the Florida School Counselor Association, was both enjoyable and eye-opening. To say I have never been involved in the political process is putting it mildly. I've never considered myself to be assertive when it comes to politics, but recently I've been concerned that our voices are truly not being heard by those who work hard in Tallahassee. I have been quick to criticize our legislators, yet I've never been compelled to take a stand. So when I attended the 2014 FSCA convention, I heard about the opportunity to spend a day speaking with our legislators about our profession and made the decision right there and then to commit some of my time to getting involved. I must say, I am so glad I did! One of the best parts of the day was meeting school counselors from all over the state. We had all levels represented from elementary to post secondary. It was wonderful to network with skilled professionals and have real conversations about the issues we face as school counselors today. The second best part was meeting with all of the aides and legislators. I was so surprised how happy they were to see us, as well as eager to listen to our agenda. I was skeptical when I arrived, thinking we might be swept away as unimportant, but to the contrary we were welcomed and encouraged. Some of the senators and representatives even made suggestions to our organization for moving our agenda forward. The FSCA lobbyist, Carole Green, is an amazing person. She was stopped over and over again by senators, representatives, aides, etc., with hugs and smiles, while she was leading the group from one office to the next. While I might not be assertive, she was assertive enough for the entire group. Smiling her way into the offices and hearts of our legislators, introducing our group, and encouraging us to share our stories and plight. I look forward to seeing the results of the OPPAGA study and will follow up with my senator, locally, when the study is released. I can't wait to see what happens with our proposed legislation next year! I hope everyone will be inspired to join FSCA and BSCA in the fight for the best interest of students in Florida and promotion of our unique skills set as professional school counselors.
With Warm Regards,
Lynnette
Welcome to the BSCA website. I am excited to have an amazing group of colleagues; willing to give their time and effort to get this organization underway. I would like to thank Christine Barbuto, Paula Bewerse, Betty Bobay, Sarah Brothers, Joyce Cochran, Janet Gallagher-Robertson, Judy Ginty, Laura McGlothlin, Jo-Ann Rosemont, Jacqueline Small, Carmilla Solomon, and Dawn Southall-Joly for becoming the charter members of this organization. We met at 5:00 p.m. on January 15, 2014 for our first organizational meeting. You can find our meeting minutes on the documents page. We had a great response to membership after the first meeting and I am hopeful our organization with grow leaps and bounds in the coming months. You can also visit the documents page for a membership application and well as a nomination packet for office. Thank you again for a great start, I am so excited to be part of this organization and look forward to getting to know everyone!
Happy New Year,
Lynnette Thorstensen