Meet your new 2018-19 PTO presidents
With a new school year just around the corner, each school’s parent-teacher organization is hard at work to make the most of every fundraiser, event and school day. Take a look at who will be leading individual PTO boards for the 2018-19 school year.
Crawford Bumgarner
► School: Mountain Brook High School
► Contact: csbumgarner@bellsouth.net
I was born and raised in Birmingham and am a MBHS graduate. I went to Vanderbilt University. After working in the investment business for 12 years, I stayed home to raise my children. I am married to Stephen Bumgarner (an attorney with Maynard, Cooper & Gale), and we have two daughters. Kate just completed her freshman year at Alabama, and Whitton will be a senior at MBHS. I now work part time for Set to Sell, a home staging and design business and have a decorative pillow business with my sister.
It is important to me to give back to our schools. Our teachers and administrators at Mountain Brook have had such an impact on my children, preparing them for college and life. So, if we, as PTO volunteers, can help support their efforts, it can only further solidify Mountain Brook as one of the strongest school systems in the state.
As always, our hope is to provide help in the way of manpower and fundraising. Our registration alone requires close to 100 volunteers. The high school is undergoing a lunchroom renovation, and it is the PTO’s goal to provide funds for audiovisual equipment in the new cafeteria through our annual check writing campaign.
Amy Maziarz
► School: Mountain Brook Junior High
► Contact: amym@redhillsllc.com, 515-1903
I am a Realtor and the broker of Red Hills Realty. I am originally from Guntersville. I am a graduate of the University of Alabama. My husband, Jim, is a graduate of Louisiana State University and is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana.
I have two daughters in Mountain Brook schools: Abby, 10th grade at Mountain Brook High School, and Amelia, seventh grade at Mountain Brook Junior High.
I have always enjoyed volunteering for various committees at Brookwood Forest Elementary, where my daughters attended elementary school. I was the PTO president there, and it was such a great experience to be able to collaborate directly with the principal, administration and parents. So, when asked to serve in this role at MBJH, I was more than happy to accept. Our community is so fortunate to have such an incredible school system with top-notch teachers, principals, administrators, staff and parents. Having the opportunity to support our schools and work with the other PTO presidents in such a direct way is an honor.
As PTO president this year, I want to build upon the successes of our past presidents and board members and continue to improve the effectiveness of communications with parents, encourage families to participate in our fundraising efforts, provide valuable information for parents at our PTO meetings and continue to support the administration of the school.
Suzanne Perkins
► School: Mountain Brook Elementary
► Contact: sgperkins@bellsouth.net
I’m originally from Selma. I have three kids and the best dog ever, Gumbo. My husband is Jerry Perkins. I’m a member of the Junior League of Birmingham, serve on the St. Vincent’s Foundation Board of Directors and teach Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at our church, St. Paul’s Cathedral. I love to cook, do Pilates and go on walks with my husband. My son Jackson will be an eighth-grader at MBJH. My daughters, Drue and Caroline, will be in the sixth and second grades, respectively, at Mountain Brook Elementary.
I don’t think anyone sets out wanting to be PTO president. I just wanted to get involved with my kids school. After all, they spend eight hours a day there. When asked, it was definitely a family decision because I knew it would be time consuming. I’m thrilled to serve the school this way and have enjoyed developing a deeper relationship with the parents, faculty and staff at MBE.
Our PTO this is year is hoping to continue to foster the relationship between students, parents, teachers, administration and faculty. We are moving one of our biggest fundraisers, Boosterthon, to February this year. In addition, we’ll once again host two social events for our families and staff: Boo Bash and Lancers on the Lawn.
Bragan Petrey
► PTO Council president
► Contact: brpetrey@gmail.com, 936-4688
I grew up here in Mountain Brook and attended both Mountain Brook and Crestline Elementary schools. I then went to Vanderbilt University where I met my husband, Banks Petrey. I continued my training at Vanderbilt and received my master’s degree as a pediatric nurse practitioner before returning home to Birmingham to work at Children’s of Alabama in pediatric endocrinology for 13 years.
I loved working with children and now enjoy staying home with our three boys. My husband likes to joke I quit my job to “work for free.” I love volunteering and simply giving back to the community, school, church, family and most importantly, our boys.
Our three boys are entering seventh grade, third grade and first grade.
I have always loved volunteering, and I love being involved in what my kids are doing. Serving as PTO president is an ideal way to combine these two passions. It takes a village to make our schools function at a high caliber, and I feel honored to be a part of that team. I am excited to both lead and join in behind the scenes and work hard to continue our school’s success.
I am hoping to grow a culture where all students and parents feel proud of their school and want to be involved. I think that it is the perfect time to work on coming together as a school community and truly get everyone involved in some way.
Please feel free to contact me via email or phone with questions or to get involved, or just say hello this year!
Kelly Robicheaux
► School: Cherokee Bend Elementary
► Contact: CBE, 871-3595
I grew up in Tuscaloosa and graduated from the University of Alabama with an undergraduate and masters degree in accounting. After college, I married my high school sweetheart, Grant. I worked in business consulting in New York City and London until we moved to Birmingham in 2005. We have three children: a rising third- and fifth-grader at CBS and a rising seventh-grader at MBJH.
After serving on the PTO Board at CBS for several years, I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as president and to work with the Cherokee Bend administration, faculty and staff to help Cherokee Bend achieve even greater things. I love our community at The Bend and look forward to partnering with our wonderful families to give back to the school that has given so much to my three children.
I am thrilled to be working with our new principal, Sandy Ritchey. I look forward to collaborating with Sandy, our talented teachers and staff and our amazing PTO Board to help facilitate and implement the exciting ideas our teachers and administration have for our Cherokee Bend Chiefs.
Patti Wilkinson
► School: Brookwood Forest Elementary
► Contact: pattipwilkinson@gmail.com
I was born and raised in Birmingham and graduated from the University of Alabama. My husband, Charles, and I moved to Mountain Brook 15 years ago and have two children in the Mountain Brook school system: Bergen, in fifth grade at BWF, and Brock, in third grade at BWF.
I work for Microsoft as an account executive, managing financial services accounts. This is my third year on the Ranger PTO Board and first as the PTO president.
Brookwood Forest is such a phenomenal school, and we use the word “family” to describe BWF. It is easy to want to give your time to a school that does so much for your children. I have served on many committees at BWF and have really enjoyed getting to know the children, families, teachers, staff and administration.
Being president is the next step of supporting our school and the Ranger PTO Board while working together for a quality education for our children. It is an honor to serve as PTO president at Brookwood Forest this year.
BWF’s Ranger PTO had an amazing year in 2017-18, the highlight of which was a successful capital campaign to build a new playground called Ranger Park. For this year, we will continue with our fundraising events and sponsorships to support the teachers, administration and staff in creating a positive and enriching school environment for our children to excel. The additional events we support, such as Forest Fling and Ranger Run, are fun events that we hope will create lasting memories for our children.
As president of the Ranger PTO, my goal is to have more parents supporting the PTO, not only financially but also with their time, creativity and energy. We can do amazing things together for BWF.
Jackie Woodall
► School: Crestline Elementary
► Contact: jackiewoodall@me.com; 612-3135
Originally from Upper Arlington, Ohio, I have lived in Birmingham for nearly 19 years. My husband is a Mountain Brook native, and we have one daughter, Tessa, who is in fifth grade at Crestline.
Having been actively involved in the PTO since starting at Crestline, as well as being a member of the PTO board for three years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing first hand the great work of our PTO. Our administration, teachers and parents give their all to make Crestline the great school that it is. If I can be a small part of that, I feel blessed. This year I’m hoping to promote volunteerism. Getting involved is the best way to know our school, as well as other parents and children. The PTO literally has opportunities for every schedule and every skill set. We can’t do it without our great volunteers!
We will additionally continue fundraising to finish out our classroom transformations. Our kids learn so differently today than when we were students. It’s been fun and inspiring to watch them thrive in these collaborative learning environments.