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In The Beginning……
By: Julie Martinson and Mallette Parry
During the summer of 1999 I began to look for other nannies in my area to meet for play dates. Feeling a little isolated and not sure how to begin, I contacted the nanny agency who placed me, Nannies From The Heartland and asked for a list of all the nannies they had placed in the last 18 months in my area with roughly the same age charges. Within a week I received a list of a dozen or so nannies and began making calls. Only two nannies returned my call! Unfortunately, one of them was leaving the profession to become a full-time mom. However, the other nanny was willing to get together for a play date and as it turns out had recently answered a small ad that was placed in the local North Oaks paper from another Nanny looking to start a playgroup. Soon we were all meeting consistently approximately once a week rotating the playgroup among our employers’ homes. The small group soon began to grow; this is how I first met Mallette and her charge baby “M”.
Many nannies were becoming friends “outside of work” and a couple of dinners were set up (at Bucca and The Olive Garden) and the idea of forming an official nanny support group for the Twin Cities area was often discussed. I couldn’t stop thinking about the ideas we often talked about so I asked Mallette and several others nannies that seemed interested to “officially” meet. Mallette also suggested we include Margo, a friend from college who was in-between nanny jobs and very interested in the idea of starting a nanny support group. On Saturday, February 10, 2001 at 1:30 p.m. six nannies met at the Roseville Library to discuss the idea of creating a nanny support group.
After a couple of meetings our group of six became three: Margo Kulseth, Julie Martinson, and Mallette Parry. Over the next 8 months or so we often met bi-weekly and had phone conferences as needed to make TCPN a reality. During that time we worked with supervised law students from William Mitchell College of Law to obtain non-profit status, applied for federal tax exempt status, and write TCPN’s by-laws. We also worked on our mission statement, code of ethics & guidelines, created nanny, individual, and business membership applications and the benefits and requirements of membership for each level, designed a logo and website, designed an informational brochure, researched printers, began contacting all the local nanny agencies, organized a fundraising garage sale, laying the ground work for what would become the Events/Playgroups and Newsletter committees, and creating and organizing the Nanny Resource Guide.
In July of 2001 TCPN officially became a Minnesota nonprofit corporation and on September 15, 2001 we held our first annual meeting/educational event. We were finally ready to officially begin accepting members and membership dues. TCPN began with 7 nanny members and 1 business member. Also, at that meeting a fellow nanny, Shellie Jensen was our speaker for the educational topic which was nanny-parent communication.
ABOUT THE CO-FOUNDERS
Margo Kulseth
Heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to Margo Kulseth, one of the co-founders of TCPN, former board member, newsletter chair, and secretary, and website designer extraordinaire. TCPN would not exist without her unending dedication.
Julie Martinson
Julie is one of three co-founders of TCPN, former board member, Treasurer, and events committee chairperson. She works as a nanny caring for two boys in Vadnais Heights and has been a nanny since 1998. After a much needed break, Julie is now serving on the events committee. Julie’s favorite thing about being a nanny is the opportunity to nurture, teach, and entertain children. She hopes this group will help nannies network with each other, further their childcare skills and knowledge, and promote professionalism in the industry.
Mallette Parry
Mallette is one of three co-founders of TCPN, former board member, President, and playgroups committee chairperson. Currently, Mallette is serving on both the newsletter and playgroup committees. She has over 12 years of experience as a nanny and a Bachelors degree in Education. She is also a member of the National Association of Nannies (NAN). Mallette loves being a nanny because she loves to teach and have the one-on-one experiences with children. Her goals for the group are to link nannies with other nannies in their area and help them grow professionally. In her spare time she enjoys reading, going for walks, Creative Memories, and hanging out with friends.
Special thanks also go to the following people for their contributions to the formation of TCPN:
- Michelle Langness, Nanny
- Donna Sanders, Nanny
- Traci Strane, Nanny
- Michelle LaRowe, Nanny
- Professor Lori Guzman, William Mitchell College of Law
- Josh LeClair, William Mitchell College of Law
- Professor Kathleen Edmond, William Mitchell College of Law
- Barbara Lefky, William Mitchell College of Law
- Erin Wessling, William Mitchell College of Law
- Camie Torgersen, William Mitchell College of Law
- Professor Denise Roy, William Mitchell College of Law
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