AISD board honors school employees for their service

By Lee Ellen Benjamin
lbenjamin@casscountynow.com
The Atlanta Independent School District (AISD) Board of Trustees hosted the fourth annual Employee Service Recognition Banquet to honor tenured employees and bid farewell to retirees.
The event was held June 2 at the Atlanta Middle School gymnasium and was well attended.
The festivities began with a greeting from Superintendent Sidney Harrist. He expressed his appreciation to all the staff and teachers, by giving “a thank you for the part each of you played in making Atlanta Schools successful.”
“The primary school instituted ’no crying in the halls’ under Mrs. Rice’s leadership. The elementary school achieved 90 percent of the reading goals. The middle school continued with a 31st- year string of University Interscholastic League championships and Atlanta High School was still playing football in December. That is all proof of what a great year this has been.”
Harrist thanked the Board of Directors for making his job a “delight.” He specifically expressed his appreciation for the “positive agenda the board has generated, which has created the best possible school system for the students at AISD.”
Board of Trustees President Joel Steger communicated his gratitude for the hard work of all the employees of the Atlanta system. He was especially complimentary of Harrist. Steger explained that Trustee Randall Thomasson was the architect of the banquet, when he suggested a “special event to give back to the dedicated employees.”
The affair was catered by Catfish Express of Marshall and featured fried catfish, coleslaw and mashed potatoes. The tables were adorned with Rabbit water and huge maroon and white flowers.
One of the highlights of the evening was a talent contest, featuring teams of teachers from each campus. First to perform was the winning group of talented dancers and singers from the Atlanta Primary School. They narrowly lost to last year’s winner and were out to take the trophy.
Doing a paraphrased rendition of “Uptown Funk,” the pink ladies had the crowd rocking. They ended their routine with the well-known “Friday Song.”
Next up was the Hawaiian skirt-wearing elementary school teachers directed by Cissy Clayton. They offered a version of the “Twelve Days of No School,” sung to Principal Todd Marshall.
The middle school group presented “A Year in Review,” which was vocalized from a large red cartoon car. They acted out the highlights of the season assisted by Coaches Matt Johnson and Gregg Gaston.
The Atlanta High School jug band performed a “hoedown” version of “We’re All Proud to Be At-lanta Rabb-its” and a second tune which was credited to AHS Librarian Gloria Herring, entitled “Go Rabbits Go!” to the tune of “Johnny B. Goode.”
AISD Director of Curriculum Dianne Whatley, assisted by Deputy Superintendent Joey Galetka, introduced seven retirees.
Unfortunately, Gail Crocker, a 20-year veteran of the school system was unable to attend and Reggie Jefferson was presented his retirement plaque posthumously.
This year for the first time, sisters retired the same year. Tammy Tigert (31 years) and Diane Guest (seven years) are leaving AISD, but both plan to teach in Arkansas in the near future. Dana Humphries retired after 19 years with the school system and Leigh Stanley is leaving after having spent 28 years teaching at the primary school and four years teaching at the elementary school.
Due to the number of years of her service, the most notable retiree was Molly Knox, who has taught for 44 years. She was renowned for making students stand on an “x” when they misbehaved on the playground. In fact, the infamous “x” has even been mentioned in several graduation speeches.
Dozens of lucky employees were presented prizes from a random drawing. Some of the gifts were donated by area businesses, including an a $65 gift certificate to Southern Salon, a $50 gift certificate to Peacock’s Plume, a $50 gift certificate to the Salon on Main, a Weber grill from Price Hardware, a $40 gift certificate from Terri’s Treasures and the big prize of the night, a 50” flat screen TV from Flint Furniture and Appliances.
Fifty employees of AISD were presented tenure awards, which represented hundreds of years of service.
Receiving a five-year awards were Erin Allen, Norma Allen, Stacy Anthony, Carolyn Benest, Mike Griswold, Brianne Jones, Brianne Milam, Tina Rapp, Lori Seavey, Tommy Snow, Minnie Solomon, Connie Wall and Linda Ware.
Accepting 10-year awards were Dave Allen, Wynette Betts, Dana Boyce, David Bray, Larry Foster, Kara Gennings, Rebecca Hearn, Alison Highland, Beth Hogan, Christina Kelley, Danny Mason, Joel Morris, Ben Rice, Jim Solomon Tammy Sprawls and Brenda Webster.
15-year awards went to Kristie Alexander, Kathy Brown, Thomas Campbell, Carolyn Chamblee, Vicki Crawford, Cindy Flint, Mary Kay Kutz and Deborah Olson.
Receiving 20-year awards were Mari Corn, Stacey Harrell, Ethel Hudspeth, Wanda Jordan and Tony Lee.
Those serving 25-year awards were Tammy Clements, Phyllis Mauldin and Leigh Solomon.
Collecting a 30-year award was Diane Wilkerson.
Thirty-five-year awards were presented to Debby McConnell and Donna Rice.
Jo Caldwell and Gloria Herring were given 40-year awards.
Superintendent Harrist presented Roger Sheppard of Sports Magic in Texarkana, who regaled the crowd with clever jokes and slight of hand magic tricks.
Harrist concluded with the wish that “one child at a time, each teacher works with our children to build a better future. Here’s hoping the future of AISD is always bright.”