NEWS Walnut Valley Unified School District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 880 S. Lemon Avenue
February 7, 2011 Walnut, CA 91789
Contact:
Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources
(909) 595-1261 ext. 31204
Class Act Cornerstone Awards
Donna Waggoner Named Classified Employee of the Year
WALNUT, CA--Walnut Valley Unified School District honored the 12 classified (non-teaching) employees chosen as Cornerstone Award winners this year and named the 2010 Employee of the Year at the Class Act Cornerstone Awards ceremony held on February 4.
Classified employees throughout Walnut Valley are caring, dedicated, and hard working individuals who make a difference in the lives of children everyday.
“They are the constant, often making a long-lasting connection in the lives of our children,” said host Kathy Granger, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
Cornerstone Award winners are classified employees who have “gone above and beyond” the call of duty as they provide service to schools and community.
The WVUSD Personnel Commission honors one employee each month. Along with Certificates of Recognition from the District and Assemblyman Curt Hagman, gift cards from local businesses, they also receive a paid day off!
At the Cornerstone Awards event, Superintendent Dr. Dean Conklin spoke about the Classified employees.
“Classified employees are constantly maintaining our schools - making sure they are safe and clean for our kids. They prepare the food and do the paperwork. They are often in the background, but without them, we could not run the schools,” he said.
The Class Act Cornerstone Awards, held at the Pomona Mining Company, is a celebration of the good work done by these employees throughout the district.
This year’s Cornerstone Award winners are: Betty Holmes – Attendance Clerk at South Pointe Middle School; Donna Ibarra – School Office Manager at Westhoff Elementary; Elizabeth Esparza – Child Care Attendant at the Walnut Elementary Child Enrichment program; Ruthie Lu – School Office Manager at C.J. Morris Elementary; Mary Anderson – Food Services Supervisor at Chaparral Middle School; Donna Waggener – District Campus Security Officer at Walnut High; Lam Bui -- Data Base Analyst, Technology Dept.; Cindy Franco – Special Education Instructional Aide at Vejar Elementary; Diana Lance – Office Assistant at Quail Summit Elementary; Miguel Silva – Food Services Supervisor at Suzanne Middle School; Christal Beccera – Office Assistant at South Pointe Middle School; Patricia Hernandez – Health Clerk at Castle Rock Elementary School.
During the event, each winner received a personal tribute and an award symbolizing their extraordinary enthusiasm, dedication, and pride.
Congratulations to each honoree and to Donna Waggoner who was named the 2010 Employee of the Year.
Donna has served Walnut Valley for the past 23 years. She is the District Campus Security Officer for Walnut High and provides support to other sites that need her assistance. Donna also teaches a Public Safety and Administration of Justice course at Walnut High through the ROP program. Her philosophy is to “go above and beyond, to be there and visible” at school events in order to prevent any problems. When students do get in trouble, she has them write an essay about what they did wrong and how to change it.
Donna represents Walnut Valley classified employees as the current president of the Classified School Employee Association (CSEA). She regularly attends school board meetings and dedicates endless hours of her personal time in order to keep informed and up to date for her job, her students, and to support Walnut Valley employees. She gives of herself unselfishly, while always giving her best. Donna was nominated by co-worker Margarita German.
Caption:
1. Each honoree received a personal tribute and award and cheers from the audience during the Cornerstone Awards program. Shown: Mary Anderson, Food Services Supervisor at Chaparral Middle School received her award from Commissioner June Wentworth.
2. Lam Bui, the District’s Database Analyst was honored as the July recipient at the celebration event.
3. Cindy Franco, a Special Education Instructional Aide at Vejar Elementary School received the 2010 Cornerstone Award from the WVUSD Personnel Commissioners.
4. Commissioner June Wentworth presented the Cornerstone Award to Quail Summit Office Assistant Diana Lance.
5. Congratulations to the 2010 Cornerstone Award winners. Front Row: Ruthie Lu, Cindy Franco, Mary Anderson, Donna Waggoner, Patricia Hernandez, Christal Beccera, and Betty Holmes. Back Row: Superintendent Dr. Dean Conklin, Elizabeth Esparza, Diana Lance, Personnel Commissioner June Wentworth and Gayle Pacheco, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Kathy Granger, Miguel Silva, Lam Bui, and Personnel Commissioner Ron Everett.
6. At the culmination of the Class Act Cornerstone Awards event, District Security Officer Donna Waggoner was named the 2010 Employee of the Year. She received the award from the WVUSD Personnel Commissioners June Wentworth, Gayle Pacheco, and Ron Everett.