Thursday night’s Bryan County Board of Education meeting was the last for members Mary Warnell and Judy Crosby, who are both stepping down after serving for the last eight years.
The two were honored during the meeting at Bryan County High School in Pembroke with plaques for their service to the county and its children.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize the time it takes to be a board member,” Chairman Eddie Warren said as he presented the plaques to Warnell and Crosby.
Most people, he said, think board members go to meetings once a month, or on the other hand, think they have an office where they work all day running the school. That’s not how it works, Warren said.
“But it does take up a lot of time,” he said. “There is a lot of training we have to attend – a lot of reading and studying. When it comes to budget time, there are several meetings and a lot of hours crunching the calculator …
“I think our community owes these two ladies a lot for everything they have done.”
Fellow board members Joe Pecenka, Jeff Morton, Dennis Seger and Charlie Johnson agreed and each offered their appreciation and gratitude to the outgoing members.
Morton said when he first joined the board, he “could always count on Ms. Crosby and Ms. Warnell to assist me and give me pointers.”
Johnson said serving with the two “has truly been a pleasure.”
“You have always had the best interest of the children of Bryan County in mind, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Crosby thanked the school principals for their hard work, as well as her fellow board members. She said she plans to be in the audience of the board’s January meeting unless she’s at the hospital for the delivery of her first great-grandchild.
Warnell, who served as the board legislative liaison with the state, said she plans to be in Atlanta on behalf of the North Bryan Chamber of Commerce and Farm Bureau and will continue to follow issues in education at the state level.
“It has been and honor and privilege to serve on the board,” she said.
Next month, Paine Bacon will take Warnell’s place in the seat for District 1, and David Schwartz will take Crosby’s place in the seat for District 5.
In other business:
• Special recognition was given to WTOC Top Teachers at Bryan County High: Inga Cashon, Donna Kennedy, Jeffery Smith, Dr. Joe Holloway and Robert Dale.
• Special recognition was also given to: Tiffany Howard, Class A State Softball Player of the Year and first team pitcher for the 2010 Fast-Pitch Softball All-State; and Sierra Cornell and Sierra Newman for first team outfield and second team outfield, respectively, for the 2010 Fast-Pitch Softball All-State.
• Donations were accepted from Richmond Hill Primary School PTSO of $4,000 for teachers to purchase classroom items at RHPS; and from the Alice Everard Charitable Foundation of $2,000 for Kindle e-readers for Richmond Hill Middle School.
• The board unanimously approved a bid amount of $76,000 each for three International buses from Nally Motor Trucks.
• The board unanimously approved a bid amount of $47,900 from Norvell Fixtures and Appliances for a walk-in freezer at G.W. Carver Elementary School.