Team Player Wants To Encourage Others as Deer Park PTA President

As the new school year approaches, we caught up with some of the Westchase area's busiest parents - PTA presidents. Here's what Heather Papolos, the incoming PTA president at had to say:

Patch: How did you get involved with the PTA?

Papolos: Getting involved in PTA was automatic for me since I grew up with my mother heavily involved in PTA. I loved knowing she was involved in my school and I wanted to do the same for my daughter. I started off small just volunteering in the library, and slowly got more involved as my schedule permitted.

Patch: What are your duties?

Papolos: As President, I will follow the guidelines set by PTA for the position. A few responsibilities of this position are to oversee all PTA meetings, make sure all members feel welcomed and informed, assist in managing the budget, and foster an environment where parent involvement is encouraged.  I spent the summer participating in local training seminars and conferences offered by PTA to learn all I could about the position and ensure that I support the Board members to the best of my abilities.

Patch: What's the hardest part of your role? 

Papolos: So far the hardest part of my role is not having enough time in the day to do all I want to do!  The 2012-2013 Board has met numerous times over the summer and each meeting is full of excitement and energy. We are so excited for our plans this year.

Patch: What's the most fun part of your role?

Papolos: I love seeing the teamwork and collaboration between everyone on the Board and Committee Chairs. It's amazing to see how an idea that seems to vague can so quickly come to life with input and problem solving from such creative people.

Patch: What do you hope to accomplish as PTA president?

Papolos: I hope that I continue to encourage and support all the volunteers at Deer Park in such a way that people want to keep giving some of their precious time back to the school. The Board this year is an amazing group of people that are bringing wonderful new programs to support our already popular activities and events. Keeping that energy and momentum going will result in an outstanding year.

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