Presidents Message

Fall 2009
WHEA Members,

I would like to welcome everyone back to another new school year in West Hartford. I hope that
everybody got the chance to relax, even if just for a little while. As we start this year off, please
take the time to welcome our new members into the WHEA and to make them feel a part of our
Association family. I am looking forward to serving you as president for the next two years.

The school year 2009 – 2010 looks to be an exciting, yet challenging one for the WHEA. We
have a new Executive Team that will be serving you. Theresa McKeown is your Executive Vice
President, Margo Walerysiak is your Administrative Vice President, and we currently have a
vacancy left by Paul Ribeiro for Treasurer. We also have a PR person, Joyce Bogdan, who will
be putting out a newsletter and other public relations information.

We are also planning on bringing back our social hours and training workshops for everyone.
We are planning a social security and retirement workshop, a special education workshop, and a
pension issues workshop. Along with these, we will have socials to get together and talk, mingle
and discuss how our year is going with one another. As our calendar gets filled in, you will get
e-mails letting you know what is coming up. I would also like more people to use the website,
so we will try to have it kept up to date with all the events being posted to it.

I look forward to trying to make it to every school this year and meeting with each of you to hear
about your successes and concerns, now that my schedule is more conducive to achieving this. I
will make arrangements through your building reps for this. I will also be looking for people to
become more involved in our organization. We are trying to bring back some of the committees
that are in our bylaws but have been neglected over the past few years, so if I ask you to sit on a
committee, please consider it.

Our biggest challenge will be the economy and what it holds for all of us. Although there is talk
that we have begun to turn the corner, it just doesn't’t feel that way. Connecticut is one of two
states where a budget has not been passed yet. We need to be politically active and get our
legislators to do what needs to be done so that West Hartford gets the resources necessary to
maintain the best public schools possible.

Again, I welcome you all back to a new and wonderful school year. It will be exciting and
challenging, but if anyone is up to the task it is the teachers of West Hartford. You are the best
of the best and I look forward to serving you this coming year.



David Dippolino
WHEA President
860-236-5350
wheapres@gmail.com