Rosemary Culleeney-Duff, President – 2010/2011
Association of Educational Office Employees

I feel very fortunate to have been able to serve classified staff and students of the Los Angeles Unified School District for the past nine years. I want to thank each of you for providing me this opportunity. I have worked with incredible classified administrative office professionals, students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members.

Despite severe and devastating state and federal budget cuts to so many schools and offices, AEOE has much to celebrate.

During my three years as president, AEOE provided funding for over 130 students and members to further their education. We honored 54 creative writers and awesome artists. We honored a classified supervisor and a certificated administrator.

We gave dictionaries to 500 third grade students, gave 20 gift certificates to homeless teenage students, helped co-sponsor back packs with school supplies for elementary students, co-sponsored a daylong program of learning for 100 high school students to participate in the basics of everyday budgeting; helped sponsor a field trip to Washington, D.C. for leadership students; and donated to the battered and homeless shelter for woman and kids.

Our website won third place, second place, and, now, this year, first place in national competition.

Our newsletter won first place three years in a row from the National Association of Educational Office Professionals (NAEOP) and won first place two years with the California Association of Educational Office Professionals (CAEOP).

We have co-sponsored several professional development conferences and have now embarked on the upcoming national conference next July, 2012.

Several AEOE Board of Directors received their NAEOP Certified Educational Office Employee distinction and/or re-certification and one member received her CAEOP Professional Standards Program distinction. Another member received the distinguished CAEOP Honorary Member Award. Several members served on state and national committees and boards.

AEOE received numerous written kudos and accolades from the Governor; the Mayor; a City Council member; all the County Supervisors; Superintendents Brewer, Cortines, and Deasy; three LAUSD Boards of Education; and Board Members Korenstein and Zimmer personally came to our installation luncheons to honor us. Numerous national and state administrative professional association board members attended and participated in our installations and awards luncheons.

There is also so much more to be done. AEOE cannot rest until every classified professional and student has access to, receives, and completes their path to success by way of education and continuing professional development thereby providing a lifetime of opportunities. As we chart the future of AEOE and its members, it is imperative that current board members become mentors and pass the torch to administrative professionals, who, after a lifetime of taking pride in their classified positions, are waiting to spread their wings by being AEOE board and committee members. We are about professional growth for all administrative office professionals.

I admire and applaud AEOE, its members, and Board of Directors for their commitment to helping provide opportunity pathways to members, employees, students, and parents.

I am grateful to you for the opportunity to serve with you in the Association of Educational Office Employees as Member-at-Large, Secretary, President-Elect, President, and, now, as Immediate Past President.