Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (1888PressRelease)
June 17, 2008 - Complete with beads and masks, business, education and community leaders from across the state gathered for the Mardi Gras-themed North Carolina Education Ball in Raleigh on Saturday, June 7. The sixth annual Education Ball, which supports the work of the Communities In Schools (CIS) network across North Carolina, was held at the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts. Top business leaders and educators gathered to support the vital work of this non-profit dropout-prevention organization in our State.
In addition to the Mardi Gras-themed performances featuring Broadway veterans and student talent, the evening honored the winners of this year’s H. Glenn Williams Power of One Award. The award was created to celebrate the impact one person, one company, or one organization can have on education and the community.
This year’s winners included: Anne Laukaitis of Cabarrus County, Kathleen Byron of Moore County and IBM.
Anne Laukaitis has been making a difference in the lives of children in Cabarrus County for more than 30 years. She has been a teacher, a director of a Charlotte-based center for children with physical disabilities, a supervisor of a child-abuse-and-neglect agency covering 47 western NC counties, chair of the community Child Protection Team and a board member of various child-centered agencies. Anne has been involved with Communities in Schools of Cabarrus Country since 1991 when she was asked to become a member of the founding board. During her time with Communities In Schools she has served as an energetic and devoted director of the organization. She has served as the chair since 1998, and has been vital to the success of CIS of Cabarrus County.
Kathleen Byron is a long-time volunteer for children in Moore County. In the past 9 months alone, Kathy has exceeded 1,000 hours working with the teachers and students of Aberdeen Elementary School designing, planting and growing an organic, user-friendly vegetable garden. Kathy’s enthusiasm and love for children has been making a difference in the lives of many Moore County residents through her volunteer work in the Moore County Regional Hospital Auxiliary, as a Community In Schools of Moore County board member and through her volunteer work with many other charitable organizations.
IBM has a deep and long history of commitment to improving education and the lives of children in North Carolina through the use of technology and its volunteer efforts in our state. IBM is committed to the fundamental belief that people of every ethnic, social and economic background must be given the utmost opportunity for success through education and technology. IBM believes that incorporating technology into classrooms with first-rate instruction is essential to improving education and the relevance it has to the global marketplace. IBM’s educational programs such as KidSmart Early Learning, Reading Companion Grants, TryScience, MentorPlace, E.X.I.T.E and IGNITE camps are changing the lives of North Carolina’s children by bringing rigor, relevance and relationships to the State’s public schools.
In addition, CIS of North Carolina presented this year’s Graeme Keith Student Leadership Award to Jessica Simpson, a student at the Performance Learning Center (PLC) of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools. During her two years at the Center, Jessica has exemplified hard work and determination through the completion of her college preparatory work. Jessica currently serves as a member of the CIS leadership team, vice president of the Spanish Club, creator and organizer of the PLC Literacy Pioneers, member of the Kids Voting Campaign and this year she is the student body president. Jessica will attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the fall. She plans to graduate with a double major in political science and communications with a minor in Spanish.
Ryan Wuerch, Chairman and CEO of Motricity, and his wife, Shawntel, served as this year’s North Carolina Education Ball Chairs. John Clark and Barbara Gibbs of WTVD-ABC11 were the emcees.
About Communities In Schools in North Carolina
Communities In Schools has earned its place as the nation’s leading community-based organization helping kids succeed in school and prepare for life. There are 39 local operational programs in North Carolina serving 400 schools and other sites. During the 2006-07 school year, CIS served over 100,000 youth and family members, and it maintains a presence in the five largest school districts in North Carolina. For more information on CISNC visit www.cisnc.org.
Media Contact:
Graham Wilson
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