May 11, 2001 – Volunteering in the public schools is more popular than ever, if one goes by the number of people selected for this year's "Volunteer of the Year" distinction. Whereas there has been one individual honored in each of several categories in past years, this year there were two.
The "best of the best" school volunteers in the St. Thomas-St. John district received recognition from more than 200 of their peers, school adopters and other community supporters Thursday in a program at Palms Court Harborview Hotel.
"These are the people to whom we owe heartfelt thanks and appreciation," Joyce M. Thomas, Volunteers in Public Schools program coordinator, said. "They have been with the schools, staff and students throughout the 2000-2001 school year and have given of themselves — their time, talents and resources."
Working from nominations submitted by the participating schools, the Friends of Volunteers in Public Schools, a United Way agency, selected two honorees in each of the six categories. Friends board member Ellen Maclean explained the reason for deciding to recognize more than one in each case this way: "We're in the business of saying thank you. We expanded the number because the nominees' qualifications for this distinction were so close."
Each of the recipients received a crystal heart-shaped box inscribed with "2001 Volunteer of the Year" from schools Supt. Rosalia Payne. The honorees:
Female student — Shenell Petersen, 7th grade, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School; and Akenika Swan, 6th grade, Edith Williams School.
Male student — Jermaine Baptiste, 7th grade, Addelita Cancryn; and Rasheed Heyliger, MIS 1, Peace Corps School.
Female non-parent — Ekta Hemerajani, Addelita Cancryn; and Shirley Testamark, Leonard Dober School.
Male non-parent — Edwin Davis and Ernest Knight, both Eudora Kean High School.
Female parent — Jacquelyn Francis, E. Benjamin Oliver School; and Allison Spencer, Leonard Dober.
Male parent — Alston Creque Sr., J. Antonio Jarvis School; and Mark Lindqvist, Peace Corps.