Retired Lakeside teacher becomes ADK president
Kathey Roberts, a retired teacher from Lakeside, was recently installed as the new president of Alpha Delta Kappa, an organization of female educators and retired female educators, for a two-year term.
“I feel very honored that I was elected into this position, and I hope to help further the growth of our state organization,” she said.
Roberts said she feels she was selected partially because she previously served as a state officer, and they knew she could do the job as evidenced by that and other offices she has held.
Roberts’ vision is a theme called “Moving Forward with Arkansas Alpha Delta Kappa.” As with all organizations at this time, they strive for growth and retention of members, she said.
“One of the goals of the international organization is world understanding and peace, and we’re also working to set some goals to help initiate some programs of some type in schools in the following two years to help cut down on bullying and misunderstanding of people,” Roberts said.
She said she has a project she is doing to raise money for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Child Life and Education Department.
“I have a child who had leukemia at age 6, and many of our other members have had children at Children’s Hospital. I think that we are very lucky in Arkansas to have a resource such as our Children’s Hospital,” Roberts said.
The program helps children develop their emotional support and growth as they usually would if they were not in a hospital situation. It provides music, art, literature and technology to show them what their treatment is going to be and what it’s going to be like in terms they can understand, she said.
“It also provides for a family centered support program with information for family advocacy and support. So, I’m going to be working very hard to try to raise as much money as we can throughout the state to help with this,” Roberts said.
She said she didn’t realize the importance of becoming president until she was installed. Every state in the union has a membership, she said, noting ADK membership is 30,000 throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“The leadership in my state carries through to the region and also the international organization. I have a lot of people that I deal with, report to and it has broadened my horizon,” Roberts said.
“I’ve never been in charge of a state organization per se, except for what I was teaching in the science fairs. So, it’s quite an honor for me,” she said.
Roberts said she joined the organization 37 years ago because one of her mentors from when she was a high school student, and when she was a teacher was in the organization, and it was an honor to be invited to join.
“(My mentor) sent me the invitation or the orders, I submitted the invitation, and I was very excited to get it and become a member of the organization,” she said.
Roberts said ADK is an international organization the provides for others, noting that for the last two years it has given $12 million to various charities such as St. Jude’s Hospital and the Alzheimer’s foundation.
It has awarded $2 million in scholarships, given locally, not only to students but also to teachers who are pursuing advanced degrees or waiting to attend professional workshops, she said.
“Our big goal is to provide educational excellence in our school systems while we’re working and to also show our professionalism to our communities and to work with our communities to better them through altruistic venues,” Roberts said.
“They have members in Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States,” she said.
Roberts said anyone interested in joining Alpha Delta Kappa can email her at katheyrobertsadk@yahoo.com.