Smyrna resident elected first black male president of the National PTA

A Smyrna man has been elected to the National Parent Teacher Association’s second-highest office and will be sworn in as its president in June of 2013. Otha Thornton will be the first black male to serve as the organization’s president.

As president-elect of the National PTA, Thornton will serve as the current president’s right-hand-man. He will be a spokesperson for the organization as well as serve on its board of directors. After two years serving under current president Betsy Landers, Thornton will become acting president in 2013.

Thornton is a native of Elberton, Ga. After a 21-year career in the military, he retired to Smyrna with his wife in 2010. Thornton has two adult children, a daughter who is a senior at Spellman College and a son who is a sophomore at Morehouse College.

A look at Thornton’s resume shows that he is dedicated to uplifting young people. In addition to his work with the PTA, he also serves as a youth program volunteer at his church and is a Go To High School/Go To College education mentor for his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha.

Thornton explains that his commitment to the education of children is rooted in his own childhood.

“When I was a 13-year-old child, I’m the oldest of seven, my dad left home,” he said. “My mom really stressed the importance of education. Education was a thing that really helped me move through life: faith, family and education. So I want to make sure that we provide those opportunities to all kids. And that’s what PTA is all about: ‘Every child, one voice.’ I’ve always been active in my kids’ lives and their friends where I could. It sort of culminated into this event right here. So I have 79 million kids that I have to speak up for.”

Thornton’s road to the second-highest office in the National PTA began in 1995 when his children started school. However, he really stepped up as a leader in the organization 10 years later when he and his family moved to Fort Meade, Md. after living in Germany. 

“The first PTA meeting on base, the base commander and I—there were about 30,000 family members and service members on that base and surrounding community—and there were seven people at the PTA meeting. So he said, ‘Otha, what are we going to do about this?’ And I said, ‘Sir, I just got in country about two months ago.’ And he said, ‘Well, what are we going to do about this?’ So that sort of started my rise up to the national level of the PTA.”

After serving on the Fort Meade Senior High School PTA for two years, Thornton had affected changes that increased membership from about 25 people to 400 people. This impressive jump attracted attention from National PTA. 

Thornton was appointed to the National PTA board of directors where he served on the membership and legislative committees. Thornton served on these committees while working with the White House Communications Agency and also served a brief tour in Iraq.

In October 2010, Thornton decided he wanted to run for president of the National PTA. He submitted his application and interviewed for the nomination in January 2011. Thornton was then elected this month at the National PTA conference in Orlando.

For the next two years, Thornton will serve under current president Betsy Landers. He’s grateful for the chance to learn the ropes.

“I’ll be installed in June of 2013,” he said. “So this is an opportunity for me to travel around the country and support her in her mission of the organization. And just prepare and make sure we’re representing our kids well.”

Thornton emphasized that although he is president-elect, he is still a volunteer. He will have an office at the National PTA headquarters in Alexandria, Va., but he and his wife will still live in Smyrna.

Thornton recognizes that he's made National PTA history as its first black male president-elect. However, he's humble about the honor.

“I’ve been in 22 countries in the world,” he said. “Asia, the Middle East, South America, and what I’ve discovered out in the world is the average person, the average child, all they want is love, security and respect. That’s it basically in a nutshell. It’s great that I’m being, I guess a trailblazer, but really I’m focusing on the kids with this office.”