Sometimes we wonder if our kids are listening. Here’s a snippet of a conversation between two middle-schoolers from Winona Minnesota: "Is your mom going to the No! Dude tonight?” “Yeah, is yours?” He answered, "Yup she’s going to hear the No! Dude too...”

Those moms joined over 600 other parents and educators who kicked off the Winona Say Yes to No campaign at Winona Middle School last Monday night. An amazing partnership between the school district, the PTA and the area Masonic Charities energized the community. The Masons, with the work of Clarence Russel, gave away 500 No books to parents. Book discussions were scheduled and sign ups were available through the PTA, Community Education and several local churches.

Our kids are listening:

Lori Ortega, PTA chair, worked tirelessly and shared this story: She told her eleven year old daughter that she had watched enough TV and it was time to turn it off and do homework. Her daughter wanted to watch more TV.  Mom said, “No.” The daughter stomped off saying, “You’re so Mediawise.” Mom smiled to herself and said,

“Yes, I am.”

But any successful kick-off event is just the beginning. Winona Superintendent Paul Durand ended the evening by saying, “Let conversations begin.”