At the April 17 Mount Gilead Exempted Village Schools Board of Education meeting, the nominees for the John A. Lee Award were presented. The John A. Lee Award was created to celebrate the extraordinary efforts of non-teaching employees who exemplify leadership and service to the district.

The award was first given in during the 2021-2022 school year in honor of John A. Lee (Nov. 14, 1959 – July 31, 2021). Lee was a beloved community member and skilled bus driver for the district. He served his country in the United States Marine Corps, and Lee loved his role as Cub Scout den master with local Pack 56.

The nominations committee is made up of five individuals: two from the community, one school board member, and two district-level employees who are exempt from the award and separated from each department represented. The award recipient will be announced this month.

The following descriptions were given of each nominee as they were presented to the board.

• Sabrina Bolha, a paraprofessional/classroom aide at Mount Gilead High School

Bolha chooses to do what is right over what is easy. She is a trusted adult to many of our students. She is a good listener and is fair. Bolha has served as a coach and in the past was president of Athletic Boosters.

• Bonnie Bostic, lead cook at Park Avenue School

Bostic and her team regularly have themes that are on display in the cafeteria and food items that match. They have made doughnuts look like turkeys at Thanksgiving. They regularly go above what is expected to provide delicious meals to our students, and meals are also presented in a way that gets our students excited to eat.

Bostic will often bring treats in from home to share with the school community. She just makes Mount Gilead a better place because of her presence. MG Schools is lucky to have her on the team.

• Taylor Hashman, paraprofessional/classroom aide at Park Avenue School

Hashman is the first to jump in when someone needs help, especially when it involves a student and their behaviors. She has many times taken the time to work with students to get them to redirect their behaviors or find a solution to help them acclimate to a situation they may be facing. As she is placed in first grade, she is willing to work with all the children at any given time.

Hashman has worked as the youth cheerleading coach. Most parents know and love her, trusting their children with her, outside of the school environment. She attends many school events that she is not directly involved in and loves supporting our sports teams.

• Farrah Hatfield, administrative assistant at Mount Gilead Middle School

Hatfield is the face of our building. Whether you are a parent, teacher, student, substitute, or delivery person, she is ready to greet you with a smile and help with whatever you need.

Whether she’s printing off a new schedule, sending out the attendance report, signing people in and out of the office, taking pictures for dojo, or awarding 5-star prizes, Hatfield interacts with our students every day. She knows our students and often their families too and will do whatever she can to assist them.

• John Irwin, bus driver

Irwin is ready to jump in and help out wherever and whenever needed. He often takes the trips that no one else will step up for.

As one of Irwin’s extra duties, he drives the bus every day to Heartland Academy. He does a great job with the kids who need extra attention and is always kind and caring to the kids and aides on the bus. He helps out every year at the music department’s haunted house and even donated most of the items used that he had collected throughout the years. He would literally do anything to help anyone.

Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel. She can be reached at [email protected].