2022-2023 Lifetime Membership Award Winners
It is my honor to announce (and humbly brag on) our 2022-2023 PTA Lifetime Membership Award winner, Sarah Bennett, and National PTA Life Achievement Award winner, Joylynn Huynh-Ngo. Congratulations to these wonderful, dedicated mamas!
The PTA Lifetime Membership Award is one of the highest forms of recognition given to a volunteer to express how much they are truly appreciated for their dedication to our children and families. This year, our board and committees have selected our lead playgroup coordinator, Sarah Bennett, to receive this prestigious award.
Sarah has been an active member of CECPTA for 6 years, since her son was 6 months old.
She has served as Children’s Programming board member, Playgroup Coordinator, and two years as Lead Playgroup Coordinator on the board. She has worked hard to ensure that all CECPTA happenings are communicated to members as efficiently as possible. She achieved this by adapting our weekly email communication to include all playgroup playdates, events, and other important announcements. This has helped make it easier for everyone to know what events are happening each week by having it in one place. It also increased member engagement throughout the year!
Sarah’s thoughtfulness and genuine authentic nature are interwoven into everything Sarah touches with CECPTA. Whether it’s your first playdate or your twentieth, Sarah ensures that your experience with CECPTA is seamless and personalized with care. Through Sarah’s work as playgroup coordinator, she has worked to create a fun, inclusive environment that makes everyone feel welcomed at all of our stages of motherhood. She encourages us to come as we are and brings authenticity to our community as parents.
Sarah is a team player and is always willing to step up and help where there is a need. She has filled in various roles while members were ill or on maternity leave. We love that we can always count on her!
You may remember Sarah’s amazing Kidsgiving booth from this year, “Bennett’s Butters”, where she and her children sold homemade flavored butter to raise funds for CECPTA. Their booth was a huge hit, and they raised over $300! Her most recent success was the CECPTA Easter party, which included an epic egg hunt, a visit from the Easter bunny, and the largest member attendance to date!
With only one year left of CECPTA, she has decided to go out with a bang and will serve as president for the 2023-2024 school year!
“I hope to continue the legacy of CECPTA as a place where families feel welcomed and lasting relationships are built.” -Sarah
The National PTA Life Achievement Award is the highest honor, from the nation’s largest child advocacy association, and is given to a person who daily lives out his/her commitment and dedication to children. This year, our board and committees have selected our fearless leader, Joylynn Huynh-Ngo to receive this prestigious award.
Joylynn has been an active member of CECPTA for almost ten years, since she joined in 2014. During her time with CECPTA, Joylynn has spent many years giving back to the organization and has served in the following roles: Publicity (2 years), Fundraising (1 year) , Community Outreach (1 year), Vice President (1 year), and President (present).
Joylynn has put her heart and soul into CECPTA since joining nine years ago and has led the organization as president this year. Her vision for CECPTA has always been to touch as many families as possible and to leave this community in a better place as a result. Joylynn’s creative and adventurous spirit has taken CECPTA to new levels. You ask her for cupcakes and you will get a whole party! Check out these impressive accomplishments that Joylynn has achieved during her time with CECPTA:
- Publicity and Outreach: Full redesign and rebrand of CECPTA with new logo, new slogan with “Meet, Play and Grow,” and new marketing materials
- Created, curated and monitored social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Tiktok to promote our CECPTA brand to the public.
- Launching the CECPTA blog, CECPTA magazine to create a close online community during the pandemic.
- Help fund the first fully accessible adaptive playground in Carrollton at Rosemeade Park
- Fundraising – Broke record and raised the highest amount for our silent auction in 2019 by instituting the first online auction. Introduced sponsorship to diversify our fundraising efforts.
- 1st Place Marvelous Marketing Campaign for Kidsgiving Day in 2020 which was awarded by Communities Foundation of Texas, beating out over 3,300 other nonprofit organizations in North Texas.
- Kidsgiving Day – from lemonade stand to full blown Petite Farmer’s Market
- STEM Festival – created an innovative educational experience for our community
We are sad to see her graduate out of CECPTA this year, but we know that her journey with PTA is far from over!
“I’ll continue my commitment and devotion to advocate for and serve all children and our community. After occupying many roles with CECPTA, I treasure our volunteers and community partners who share the same values and goals for building a bright future for our children. I hope to stay ahead of the curve and continue to grow by bringing more of my visions to life.” ~ Joylynn Huynh Ngo
On behalf of CECPTA, congratulations, Sarah and Joylynn! Thank you for making such a positive impact on our children and families. We are so proud of you and we know you will continue to achieve great things in the PTA world!
About the Author
Jen was born and raised in Carrollton, TX. As a former 2nd grade teacher, she is now a stay-at-home mom raising her two beautiful daughters. She joined CECPTA in February 2019 and is this year’s Secretary for the 2022-2023 school year. She enjoys date nights with her husband of 11 years, playing outside with her kids, exercising, a good cup of coffee, and traveling.
