Presidents Message: “Be The One, and Build a Successful Team!”

What an Amazing two years, and what a rollercoaster it has been for all of us! As I near the end of my Presidency, I find comfort and tremendous joy in how far we have come in such a short time. Life was quite different as I began my first year as President. Today, I have to wear a mask, deal with the aftereffects of contracting the virus, ensure I vaccinate for a virus that has stripped us from so much this last year, and for the first time, force our Association to a Virtual State Conference. Although this platform negates us from in-person contact, it has allowed our Association to reinvent the way we meet and will enable us to share each other’s struggles, find solutions to old and now very new challenges, see each other’s beautiful face once again, and plan for a day when we can stand side by side once again.

I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us at our 53rd Annual State Conference. This event will take place on March 27-28, 2021, . With all that our members and industry have dealt with this year, we have decided to have an event to bring us together, receive amazing instruction and make it the most affordable state conference we have ever had. As we continue to work through and transition back to normal life in a vaccination/herd immunity world, our attention at the Association turns to meet our members’ needs through education in various offerings.

The California Association of School Transportation Officials (CASTO) is proud to provide virtual access to a fantastic lineup of Key Note Speakers, field expert presenters, and programs specifically designed to provide our members with world-class educational opportunities. Keynotes are a crucial component of the standard and tone that is set for the entire conference. I’m incredibly excited to have Ryan Avery deliver a message of being “The One.” Our industry is filled with amazing professionals that stand above “the standard”, and lead the way in ensuring we earn the title of safest in the world. To top it off, we need leaders, but leaders are destined to fail without an amazing TEAM. Ross Bernstein will tie in all together with the secret of successful TEAMS and the difference you make or can make to the future success of your TEAM.  We are scheduled to have two excellent days of professional development, networking opportunities, team building, and, if you have a little luck, a winner of a prize or two throughout the conference.

I would be remised not to mention the people that make CASTO successful today. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank my beautiful wife, Monica Peregrina, for allowing me to share my life with all of you! Pam McDonald, Matt Thomas, Mike Sawyer, Christina Celeste-Russo, Amanda Hightman, Angeles Roman, Anna Borges, and her CDE TEAM, Dano Rybar, Donna King, Kerri Gardner, Tony Lavezzo, Greg Straw, and our amazing chapter presidents that do such a great job supporting CASTO’s message and vision in the communities they represent.

As we move forward to a new normal together, our success cannot be attained alone; we need one another to help us get through this very difficult time. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie. 

We are common people with a laser focus vision, or as I like to call it, “an obsession toward safe transportation”. Thank you all for standing strong with CASTO during the great times and during these unprecedented challenging times. It has been an amazing journey and an honor to have served as your President these past two years, and look forward to continue serving this Association and our membership at the direction of our new Leadership.

Sincerely,

Tony Peregrina | CASTO State President

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