Outstanding school volunteers honored

This year, 13 volunteers were chosen to be honored from a pool of 254 nominees.

By KRISTINE MILLEN

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 4, 2000

LARGO -- It's not easy to pick the top volunteers in Pinellas County when there are 20,000 of them.

Yet the annual recognition program that highlights 13 volunteers is a great way to bring attention to the value of school volunteering, said Susan Rolston, community involvement supervisor for the school district.

On Friday, winners of the Outstanding School Volunteer awards were honored at a luncheon at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Largo.

"By drawing attention to these people, maybe we will generate more people who are interested in giving an hour of their time," Rolston said.

Schools may nominate three volunteers in each category: youth, adult and senior. This year, 254 applications passed through the hands of a 12-member selection committee made up of teachers and community and corporate representatives.

Nominees were chosen based on their quality of service and how they have helped student learning or contributed to the school's learning environment.

One of the top 13 Pinellas volunteers, Beth Mosier, also was a winner of a Florida Outstanding Volunteer youth award presented by the Department of Education at March 4 ceremony in Orlando.

Mosier, 19, volunteers at Dixie Hollins High and Blanton Elementary, both in St. Petersburg. Mosier, a 1999 graduate of Dixie Hollins, attends St. Petersburg Junior College.

Her ability to relate to students, says her volunteer coordinator Julia Love, makes Mosier an effective mentor and a positive role model to the six students she tutors.

"I've been volunteering for as long as I can remember," Mosier said. "I always liked seeing the impact I could make on other people by just showing that I cared."

It was her mother, Judy, who inspired Mosier to get involved.

The elder Mosier worked as the volunteer coordinator at Westgate Elementary when her daughter was a student there. The daughter would help her mother with odd jobs and fund-raising activities.

"She encouraged me to help other people," said Mosier. "She's always been a friendly, outgoing person who liked to help others. Just seeing the way she was and the reaction from others, made me want to be like her."

When Mosier attended Tyrone Middle, she volunteered with the summer kindergarten class as a teacher's aid. After entering high school, she continued her work at Tyrone as a sixth-grade science tutor and still found time to mentor classmates at Dixie Hollins.

This semester, Mosier also began mentoring students at Blanton Elementary.

"I guess I don't see what I do as being that outstanding or special," she said. "I do what I do because I like it. I like seeing the improvements in others lives."

Donna Porter, another Dixie Hollins volunteer, also received a nomination for a state award.

Porter, who is physically handicapped, facilitates an Alateen group with about 10 students who meet weekly.

"There are seniors who would not have stayed in school if it were not for Donna's intervention," said Jeri Grey, a student assistance program counselor who works with Porter. "Because they have found empathy in Donna and sincere concern for their well-being, they have completed school and are graduating."

Iris Manley, a volunteer at Gulfport Elementary, was the district's nomination for a state award in the senior category.

Manley, who serves as a tutor, mentor and field trip chaperone, is perhaps most loved by students for establishing a decorated birthday table in the cafeteria for monthly celebrations.

The other outstanding volunteers and their schools were:

• Joseph Kerrins, Maximo Elementary, St. Petersburg

• Marissa Dutra, Pinellas Central Elementary, Pinellas Park

• Paula Knoop, Pinellas Central Elementary

• Tate Foster, South Ward Elementary, Clearwater

• Susan Neville, Southside Fundamental Middle, St. Petersburg

• Jack Moss, Frontier Elementary, Largo

• Amanda Elend, Paul B. Stephens Exceptional Center, Clearwater

• Kathleen Lamb, Countryside High, Clearwater

• Donald Radcliffe, Sunset Hills Elementary, Tarpon Springs

• John McNally, Pinellas Technical Education Center, Clearwater

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