First TEAAM meeting paves the way for an incredible year!

TEAAM USM members visit before the meeting

On Tuesday, August 30th, TEAAM USM held its first member's meeting of the year and it was a huge success! Familiar faces were mixed with new ones as room 228 of the Thad Cochran Center was packed with dozens of Southern Miss students eager to take their part in helping to raise Autism awareness on campus and across Mississippi. The club's newly installed fearless leaders were introduced to the crowd, and are as follows:

President: Marie Holowach
Vice President: Jessica Jelinski
Secretary: Jamie Jelinski
Historian: Michelle Holowach

 TEAAM USM founder and President Marie Holowach proceeded to fill everyone in on the incredible plans for the year, and they will be recapped here for anyone who missed the first meeting.

President Marie Holowach tells club of new ideas

The first big volunteer opportunity of the summer is a retreat to Center Ridge Outpost- the new location of Kamp Kaleidescope. The retreat will take place October 28th-29th, and the cost for the retreat is $20. As part of the package, participants get to stay overnight in a cabin, the time spent volunteering at Center Ridge would count as counselor training for Kamp Kaleidoscope, and everyone will have the opportunity to get to know their fellow club members better.

New members sign up for committees

This year TEAAM USM wants to involve its members in as many ways possible and has designed committees that allow anyone who wants the opportunity to play a bigger part in making this club a success. The committees are as follows:

Social Committee: Felicia Loving, chair
Community Service: Darryl Harris, chair
Fundraising: Dequontis Saul, chair

Members are welcome and encouraged to sign up for as many committees as they want, and as the year unfolds we will see the work of the club as a means of raising Autism Awareness on campus come to life through these groups!

TEAAM USM participants learn what the year has in store for them!

Who has seen the fliers hanging around campus advertising TEAAM USM and maybe even attended a meeting thanks in part to these signs? Putting our name out there helps to let people know about TEAAM USM's presence on campus, and any members who want to help hang fliers up before meetings would be greatly appreciated! Please contact Jamie Jelinski (jamie.jelinkski@eagles.usm.edu) to volunteer and you will be given the time and place to meet. Fliers are generally hung up a week before the meeting and you can pair up with a friend to pin them around campus.

Leftover T-shirts from last year's Rock for Autism are for sale for $12! All proceeds are a direct donation to the statewide TEAAM organization, so be sure to come get yours today!

Finally, we ask that all members pay a club fee of  $10. This is due as soon as possible, and will help to fund things such as end of the semester pizza movie parties and general club expenses.

Thanks to everybody who came to last week's meeting, we hope to see you all in the future!