In this episode of the Utah PTA Pulse Podcast, host Corey Fairholm, the immediate past president , and Angelee Aedo, the VP of Advocacy , sit down with Andrea Hinton, the Director of Membership, to discuss the vital role of membership in empowering the Utah PTA's mission. Membership is the backbone of the organization, providing the powerful voice needed to advocate for all children on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Andrea shares the excitement of Utah PTA's 100th anniversary and the fun, year-long "birthday party" membership campaign. They dive into the details of new and exciting membership awards designed to encourage local PTAs, like the "Early Bird Award" (50% of last year's membership by September 25th) and the new 100th-anniversary awards: the "UTAH-PTA Centennial Unit" (100 members by October 25th) and the "Visionary Award" (100 members over last year's total or double membership if they had less than 100).

Learn how easy it is for anyone to join—parents, teachers, grandparents, business owners, and community members—even if they don't have children in school. The common misconception that joining requires volunteering is debunked: your low-cost annual dues (around $8 per year ) support essential programs and give you a voice in how the PTA spends money, with no volunteer hours required.

Joining a local PTA not only connects you to your school and community but also grants you membership with both Utah PTA and National PTA, unlocking access to valuable training (like "Thrive" ), the availability of grants (for programs like STEAM, reflections, and advocacy ), and discounts and perks. Get practical tips on how local PTAs are making membership drives fun by involving the kids with competitions and incentives, such as class pizza parties. With a goal of 100,000 members this year , the team emphasizes that every single member increases their power to advocate for more school funding, better programs, and healthier schools for our children.