Message from the President – December 2023

29 Dec Message from the President – December 2023

FLAVA President’s Message – Farewell and Thank You!

Greetings, FLAVA Members!

 

 

My term as FLAVA President is coming to an end, and I would like to thank each of you for your support over the past two years. It has been an honor and a pleasure to celebrate, advocate, and collaborate with such amazing language educators across the state.

To my FLAVA Executive Board, Advisory Council, and Affiliates, THANK YOU! You all have pushed me and helped me to grow as a leader. I appreciate all that you have done for the organization and how you have helped me to move FLAVA forward! From the executive board, advisory council, vision team, and affiliates to each individual member, FLAVA has grown as an organization because of your dedication and devotion.

Without a doubt, FLAVA has accomplished so much over the past two years by partnering with SCOLT to host SCOLT 2022 in Norfolk, VA which was a huge success, returning to in-person FLAVA fall conferences in 2022 with La Maestra Loca (Annabelle Williamson) as our Keynote Speaker and 2023 with a new venue (The Norfolk Waterside Marriott), advocating on the national and state levels for the promotion of world languages which helped to defeat VA House Bills 340 and 2341, and continuing our FLAVA webinars featuring local, regional, and national language leaders and spring conferences, etc. This past fall’s conference was indeed special for so many reasons, but the highlights for me were our keynote speaker, Ben Tinsley, our phenomenal award recipients, and the large number of first time FLAVA attendees. It is my hope that FLAVA continues to grow and evolve over the years as we all work together to foster language acquisition across Virginia.

 

Representing you at NECTFL, SCOLT, and ACTFL was a true pleasure, and it was truly rewarding to see how well respected and admired our organization is on these levels. While FLAVA has so much to be proud of, we must continue to maintain and grow our programs and to support world languages at every given opportunity.

The day after I was elected as your President Elect at the Fall 2019 Conference, I spent the day touring Colonial Williamsburg with Akash Patel and on our walk back, I happened to look down and saw a plaque on the sidewalk.

 

 

It simply said, “Your Name Here; Citizen, Williamsburg Visitor; What difference will YOU make?” Such a simple plaque on a sidewalk, but such a profound message. I want to ask each one of you to reflect on this and ask yourself, what difference will YOU make? It is my hope that I have made a difference within FLAVA and that each of you will continue to remain involved and continue to make a difference in our world language community.

Eric Jaworski of Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach), will assume the position of President on January 1, 2024. Joining him on the executive board will be Beth Marshall as President-Elect, Holly Fitterer as Communications Coordinator, Dr. Kathryn Murphy-Judy as Treasurer, Virginia Kibler as Conference Coordinator, and myself as Immediate Past President.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your FLAVA President! I truly appreciate each of you and all that you do each and every day to promote world languages in Virginia and beyond! Wishing each of you a wonderful New Year filled with hope, joy, peace, and good health!

 

Merci beaucoup!!!

Heidi Trude
FLAVA President