Each year, the Georgia PTA Convention & Leadership Training (CLT) honors the volunteers and educators who elevate public education through their commit ment and leadership. This summer, the East Cobb County Council of PTAs (ECCC) was recognized with a wide array of awards, showcasing the passion, dedication, and hard work of our local school communities.
It takes extraordinary time, energy, and heart to lead a PTA—hours spent organizing events, advocating for resources, and forging community partnerships that sup port student success and increase family engagement. When principals and educators champion those efforts, the impact multiplies. Knowing the cost in late nights and early mornings makes each recognition especially mean ingful, and ECCC’s showing this year was nothing short of inspiring.
TOP HONORS FOR LOCAL UNITS
Outstanding Local Unit awards headlined the cele bration. In the 751-and-above category, Mountain View Elementary PTA earned 2nd place and Tritt Elementary PTA 3rd. In the 750-and-below category, Addison Elementary PTA took 1st and Garrison Mill Elementary PTA 3rd. At the high school level, Walton High PTSA captured 1st place with Pope High PTSA close behind in 2nd.
MODEL PTAS AND PARTNERSHIP AWARDS
Seven schools—Davis, Garrison Mill, Mabry, Mountain View, Mt. Bethel, Rocky Mount, and Shallowford Falls— along with Walton High, were named Model PTAs, repre senting best practices in leadership and programming. In the Hearst Family-School Partnership Awards, Addison, Walton, Sope Creek, and Tritt each stood out for excel lence in a National PTA standard. Special congratula tions go to Denis Olivier of Sope Creek for earning the statewide Visionary Award, and to Kelly Everden, named Tritt’s Outstanding Nurse.
MEMBERSHIP MILESTONES
PTA membership is the foundation of strong advoca cy. Addison and Hightower Trail received the Community Partnership Award for recruiting over 30 community members, and Mt. Bethel achieved 100% membership by October 31, earning the Gold Award.
Sixteen schools met the Visionary benchmark of 400 members by August 31: Dickerson, Dodgen, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Hightower Trail, Lassiter, Mabry, Mountain View, Mt. Bethel, Pope, Shallowford Falls, Simpson, Sprayberry, Tritt, and Walton. These same schools plus Davis earned the Pacesetter Award.
The Oak Tree Award—100% staff membership— went to Addison, East Side, Hightower Trail, Kincaid, Rocky Mount, Simpson, Sope Creek, Tritt, and Walton. An impressive 28 units earned the Early Bird Award for reaching 200 members by September 30, including Addison, Bells Ferry, Davis, Dickerson, Dodgen, East Cobb, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Hightower Trail, Kell, Kincaid, Lassiter, Mabry, Mountain View, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Pope, Rocky Mount, Shallowford Falls, Simpson, Sope Creek, Sprayberry, Tritt, Walton, and Wheeler.
COUNCIL OF THE YEAR
ECCC was also awarded 1st place in the Council Annual Achievement Award—an honor that recognizes collective efforts across all local units to support student achievement and family involvement.
To every officer, committee chair, volunteer, prin cipal, teacher, staff member, and community partner: thank you. Your leadership and commitment have made East Cobb a model for PTAs across the state. As we celebrate these accomplishments, let’s carry the momentum into a new year of growth, advocacy, and engagement.
Written by By Stacey Albracht, ECCC Reports Chair
Congratulations, ECCC—your light is truly shining bright! Stacey Albracht currently serves as the Reports Chair for the East Cobb County Council of PTAs and holds dual roles as Parliamentarian and Membership Chair for the Lassiter High School PTSA. A long-time advocate for public education, Stacey is deeply committed to supporting local schools and youth programs. She and her husband Dave are proud parents of two sons, Mason and Mitchell.
