We've always had a problem of getting parents to actually come and vote because they say "we have no idea who these people are?" so this year, once we had all the nomination, and those parents accepted, we asked them to write a short bio about themselves and I included it in our March Newsletter.

Even teachers came up to me saying it was a great idea because THEY don't even know some of the parents unless they've had their children in their classes or siblings.

Hope this helps, we're not having our election until April so we'll see how the turnout will be.

If you have a nominations committee, submit a letter of interest outlining your qualifications.
At the election, when they introduce the nominees, introduce yourself with a brief overview of your qualifications and even have a resume handy to pass out to the voting membership.
Also, unless it is in the bylaws that you can't, there isn't any reason why you couldn't campaign just like any elected official. It doesn't happen often in PTA/PTO but it does happen.

I am running for Vice President of PTO. How does one usually go about this. I was asked by the current PTO president to run and would like nothing better than to be on the board and make a difference in the lives and education of our children. Any advice on how to make my name and qualifications known. I am not running uncontested.