ATPE State Officers

State President
Jerry Bonham has served ATPE in many capacities since joining the association 19 years ago. She served as state vice president in 2007-08, state secretary in 2006-07 and state treasurer in 2005-06. Bonham has chaired the state Finance, Nomination/Election, Legislative and ATPE Political Action committees, and she has served on the state Local Unit Policy Assistance, Educators Professional Liability Insurance Review, Minority & Diverse Population Recruitment, Professional Rights & Responsibilities and Bylaws committees. She has served as a Leader U presenter and panelist. As a leader in Region 10, Bonham served as the region’s co-vice president and as a member of several committees, and at the local unit level, she has been the Mesquite ATPE president and chairwoman of the Mesquite Local Unit Past Presidents’ Advisory Board. During Bonham’s local unit presidency, Mesquite ATPE was named ATPE Local Unit of the Year. In addition, Bonham is an ATPE-PAC William B. Travis and Stephen F. Austin honoree and winner of the Sam Houston Award for Political Involvement.

Bonham has been an educator for 27 years and currently teaches seventh- and eighth-grade English/Language Arts and ESL in Mesquite ISD (MISD), where she is a recognized Apple Corps teacher. In addition to her volunteer work with ATPE, Bonham serves as a congressional district coordinator for We the People and Project Citizen and is currently a member of Sen. Bob Duell’s Citizen Advisory Board. She was a teaching supervisor for the Texas A&M Mentor Program, a past member of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce New Teacher Committee, and a member of the MISD Insurance/Benefits Committee and other MISD committees. Bonham has also helped her district recruit new teachers.

Bonham and her husband Keith reside in Rowlett. They have four children and four grandchildren .
  

State Vice President
Sam Spurlock has been a member of ATPE for 20 years and served the association as state secretary in 2007-08 and state treasurer in 2006-07. Spurlock has chaired the state Finance Committee and served on the state Educators Professional Liability Insurance Review, Legislative, ATPE Political Action, Membership, Public Information and Educator of the Year committees. At the region level, he served as Region 9 director, president, vice president and past president, and he has been Olney ATPE’s president, vice president, membership chairperson and past president. Spurlock has been a state convention and Leader U presenter and facilitator.

Spurlock has been an educator for 30 years and currently teaches seventh- and eighth-grade science in Olney ISD (OISD). In addition to his work with ATPE, Spurlock’s leadership includes service on the state-level Science TAAS Review Committee, the Region 9 Teacher of the Year Selection and Science TAAS Training-the-Trainer committees, and OISD committees and teams, including science curriculum alignment, crisis management and intervention, attendance review, and campus and district improvement.

Spurlock also serves as an elder at his church in Olney .
  

State Secretary
David de la Garza has been a member of ATPE for 16 years and served as state treasurer in 2007-08. He has chaired the state Finance, Legislative, ATPE Political Action and Educator of the Year committees, and he has served on the state Bylaws Committee. De la Garza served as Region 20 ATPE’s president, vice president, past president and Elections/Nominations Committee chairman, and he has been a member of the Region 20 Fiesta Parade Committee. At the local unit level, de la Garza has been Northside (20) ATPE’s president, treasurer and campus representative; chairman of the local unit’s Election/Nominations Committee; and a member of the Northside (20) Bylaws Committee. He has also served as a state convention teller.

De la Garza has a master’s degree in curriculum/instruction and technology. He has been teaching for 29 years and is currently a K-5 GT/enrichment specialist in Northside (20) ISD. His leadership experience includes service as a PTA parliamentarian, vice president, historian and treasurer and as a Phi Delta Kappa vice president. He has served on multiple NISD committees covering the following areas: school bonds, the SAT, strategic planning in public relations and facilities, and social studies and reading textbooks and report cards. De la Garza’s professional honors include being named Educator of the Year by James L. Carson Elementary and Phi Delta Kappa and inclusion in Who’s Who Among American Educators. He has analyzed TAAS and TAKS tests for TEA.

De la Garza is a PTA Life Member and a Eucharistic minister .
  

State Treasurer
Cheryl Buchanan, an ATPE member for 17 years, has served the association as a member of the state Educators Professional Liability Insurance Review, Local Unit Policy Assistance, Professional Rights & Responsibilities and Membership committees. At the region level, she has served as Region 15 director, president, vice president and treasurer. She has been Ballinger ATPE’s president, vice president, secretary and treasurer as well as a campus representative. Buchanan has served as a state convention and Leader U facilitator and as a state convention teller. Her ATPE accomplishments include Ben Shilcutt Plus Club membership and being president of a Local Unit of the Year.

A 20-year education veteran, Buchanan teaches sixth-grade English and ESL. Her district leadership experience includes service as a member and chairwoman of district- and campus-level committees, including the DATE grant planning committee, and as a UIL Ready Writing coach and competition director. She was a member of Sen. Robert Duncan’s Teacher Retirement System advisory committee and has held leadership roles in Delta Kappa Gamma and Beta Sigma Phi. She served as a Beta Sigma Phi City Council representative.

Buchanan also volunteers for her church as a lector and festival publicity chairwoman .
  

State Immediate Past President
Sue Melton, an ATPE member for 26 years, served the association as state president in 2007-08, state vice president in 2006-07, state secretary in 2005-06 and state treasurer in 2004-05. Melton has chaired the state Finance Committee and served as the ATPE Foundation Board president. Her state committee experience includes service on the Local Unit Policy Assistance, Educators Professional Liability Insurance Review, ATPE Political Action, Professional Rights & Responsibilities, and Grant for Teaching Excellence committees. At the region level, Melton served as Region 12 director, president, vice president and secretary, and at the local unit level, she has been West ATPE’s president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

A 33-year veteran educator, Melton received a bachelor’s degree in education from Baylor University. She currently teaches special education in West ISD, where she served on the district textbook, long-range planning and advisory committees and on the West Elementary planning, improvement and personnel committees. During her term as ATPE state president, she served on the Texas Education Agency committee charged with selecting the Texas Teacher of the Year.

Melton is active in the Primrose Drive Baptist Church.