Thank you all for your advice.

This is common among groups, I can remember being watched like a hawk, people waiting for me to screw up. You have to gain trust, and until then just smile and nod your head. Seriously there has been some good advice given to you already, it takes time...

supermom - you are getting fantastic advice from dlf and mykidsmom. It is so hard to be the new girl. I remember my first year as president. I felt like I lacked credibility, like I didn't know enough and worried that nobody would take me seriously. I was following in the footsteps of a terrific president and feared I couldn't live up to him. I couldn't. But the good news is that nobody expected me to. They expected me to be me. It did take awhile for them to come to me instead of him but I didn't mind because I learned right along with them.

The funny thing is that when I left this year (after three years as president), the new president said, "What are we going to do without you. You know everything!" I came a long way over those three years! And you will too because you have the right attitude, the drive to succeed and the best interests of the whole group in mind.

The best thing I did for her was move away because I suspect that if I'd hung around it would've been just as hard for me to take a step back as it seems to be for your former president. Once you've been in the driver's seat for so long, it's hard to just be a passenger. mykids is right. Soon your phone will be ringing a lot more than hers and you'll wish for a little peace and quiet!

In the left corner we have the elected Presdient for the new school year! She brings youth, new ideas and willing and ready to roll up her sleeves and dive in!! DING In the right corner we have our former President of 5 years and she brigns with her EVERYTHING you need to know about our school! LADIES , good luck! DING DING

Forgive me, but this is THE first thing that came to my mind!

Not to long ago I was the youngest, I was the new kid, I was not respected. What worked for me? I let them ask the questions of the former President, I let them get the answers they wanted from her. Then I called her and talked to her and soon I gained her trust and soon gained everyone's trust. THIS took time. Now that the tables are turned and she is running for our parent school board, I'm listening, learning, and have so much respect for her, and she is one of my best friends.
You don't have to become BFF but once everyone sees you DO know what you are doing and you DO love this school as much as they do, you'll soon wish the phone would stop ringing!!

It takes time and yes, sometimes it'll be like your're back in high school!

I don't think it should be an either or situation...I suspect it is possible for you to sit down with the committee chairs and just tell that you believe that it's very important for you to have direct communication with them on issues in order to set the correct precident for the PTO. This isn't about you--this is about how business works. Ask them for a routine meeting to get an update on how things are going, or put a call or email into them. If the old president is "a friend" perhaps you can ask her to be more distinct in moving their issues toward you...since you want to ensure that you can answer questions that arise.
Don't demand power because it just won't come that way. Be earnest in your approach to keep the "office" informed so you in turn can keep the front office and the board informed. I always ask folks to brief "the board" so that we can make decisions. They then learn to head toward me cause I can do an email distro of information to the board to get information to them.
It's a tricky situation and you're smart to be looking for a way to broach it. Old presidents, especially if they were popular with folks, can be an incredible help to the new president or and incredible detractor from the office. I hope when I leave I am the former...

d

This is my first year serving as the President of our PTO. I am enjoying it very much and hope to continue next year. Our former President resigned her position but stayed on as a board member. The only problem that I have encountered so far is that some of the committee coordinators that I served with last year are not keeping me in the "loop", despite my best efforts. Although, I am not putting myself on a pedestal, they do not treat me as though I am their President. Ex: They do not direct questions towards me, they direct them to our former president, who unfortunately most of the time does not correct them. I am not sure exactly why it is that they do this. Possibly old habits dying hard. I am worried that they don't respect me because I am the youngest member of our PTO. Whenever they have an issue, they first present it to the former president or the treasurer without consulting me. At first, I figured that it was because I was new to the position, but I have been active as President since June and have pretty much gotten into the swing of things. And besides, I served besides them as committee coordinator all of last year. Does anyone have any suggestions to resolve this issue without insulting two of my committee coordinators? Thank you in advance