| City schools foundation to honor Gordon |
|
By: SARAH FRYAR, sfryar@murfreesboropost.com
|
Posted: Sunday, January 16, 2011 5:45 am
|
 Email  Print
|
We learn at an early age that some of the biggest decisions we will make in life is how and where to invest our time and money.
With this is mind, the City Schools Foundation is putting forth its best efforts to show Murfreesboro residents that the best investments they could ever make is in their own schools.
The 2011 Excellence in Education Celebration will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, March 11 at the Stones River Country Club.
The featured school for this year’s event is Northfield Elementary.
“The cocktail dress event is $250 per ticket with 100 percent of the proceeds going back in to the City Schools classrooms … Quite an investment,” City Schools Foundation Secretary Collier Smith said.
Excellence in Education is a main fundraiser for the foundation, which was created a few years ago by community leaders who have rallied behind efforts for better education.
“The seed money was provided by John Floyd of Ole South Properties with substantial backing by the Rebecca and Jennings Jones Foundation and State Farm. John Floyd’s initial investment was not only with his time but with his energies. As the Foundation’s first vice chair, he made the commitment to the Foundation and wanted to know more about his investment. Floyd individually visited each school and principal in the district,” Smith explained.
Others were quick to follow Floyd’s efforts with the foundation.
Former Trustee Ted LaRoche guided the campaign to develop the organization into a 501 (c)3 and Percy E. Dempsey of Dempsey, Vantrease and Follis helped structure the nonprofit.
“As the initial trustees organized, with community leader Joyce Taylor as the first chair, we prioritized the Foundation’s efforts to where we saw the most need. Parity was foremost on the trustees minds with great concern for the growing number of schools with 50 percent or greater of its students on free lunch,” Smith said. “The district’s science and math scores were subpar and needed a boost. As we are promoting Rutherford County as a hub for science and technology, we felt it important for our children to have a strong base to lead our business community.”
The City Schools Foundation has raised more than $200,000 since its founding, which has gone directly into the schools via the math and science grants and parity funding mentioned above.
Excellence in Education debuted in 2007 and has since spotlighted Murfreesboro standouts like astronauts Rhea Seddon and Hoot Gibson, philanthropists Ted and Gloria LaRoche and community leader Joyce Taylor.
“This year’s “State Dinner” is honoring the honorable Bart Gordon and chaired by the First Lady of MTSU Elizabeth McPhee,” Smith said.
A former Master of Ceremonies himself for the celebration, Gordon has given Smith and the members of the foundation every reason in the book as to why 2011 is his year to shine.
“Bart Gordon is an outstanding product of Murfreesboro City Schools, (he attended Hobgood), and has recently concluded 26 years of committed service to Middle Tennessee as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was the first committee chair in 30 years from Tennessee as the Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology aligning his priorities with the Foundations own efforts to promote math and science. Within the schools, he was instrumental in Hobgood earning its status as one of the few NASA schools in the country and for Discovery School securing a grant for its new science laboratory,” declared Smith.
Aside from his long, impressive resume, maybe another reason Gordon is a perfect fit as honoree for the celebration is his drive and determination to see his own personal investments in Murfreesboro schools succeed and flourish. |
|
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!