On Friday, May 30, 2008, the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence honored five outstanding individuals in the field of education. Honored were Scott McComb, Diana Garcia, Mike Castro, Alice McGregor, and former Superintendent Joe McGeehan.

Scott McComb from Aviation High School received honor as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Diana Garcia, principal at Bow Lake Elementary School, received the Administrator of the Year award, Mike Castro, security officer at Chinook Middle School, was named Outstanding Classified Employee of the Year, and Alice McGregor, volunteer at Bow Lake Elementary School took the award of Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. A Lifetime Achievement Award went to Joe McGeehan, former superintendent of the Highline Public Schools. The event was emceed by John Curley, host of Evening Magazine on KING TV.

The Gold Star Awards Luncheon is the primary fundraiser for the Foundation and was attended by 300 local business, education, government, and community leaders raising $80,000. “The highlight for me was seeing what our community’s effort could yield in terms of classroom enrichment, student learning, and access to higher learning,” said Board of Trustees President, Dr. Holly Moore.

With a theme of “What if?” the program showcased the Foundation’s many programs and feautured students from throughout the district. Sisters Maren and Olivia Gibson from Marvista Elementary School sang the National Anthem, the Seahurst Honors Choir led by Theresa Fornalski performed three songs, and Giovanni Del Toro, currently attending the University of Washington, spoke about the benefits that he received from winning the Seattle Tacoma International Airport Scholarship. Guitarists from Tyee High School, Kyle Calamion, Arturo Oregon and Uriel Palaxios-Chavez, provided pre-event entertainment and Philip Thelin, an 8th grader from Sylvester Middle School, played the bagpipes to conclude the event.

In a spinoff of “Evening Magazine,” the program featured “Highline Magazine” and showed video clips from four classrooms that benefitted from the Foundation’s Excel Grant programs.

The Executive Event Sponsor was Powell Homes and Event Sponsors were Countrywide Home Loans, Rogers & Norman Insurance and The Boeing Company. Robinson Newspapers served as the media sponsor.

Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence was established in 2001. With a mission “To develop community resources to help students succeed,” the Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supporting all Highline public schools. The Foundation supports academic achievement, classroom grants, scholarships, and the arts.

Pictured are (l-r) Holly Moore, Foundation Board President; Alice McGregor, Volunteer of the Year; Scott McComb, Teacher of the Year; Diana Garcia, Administrator of the Year; Mike Castro, Classified Employee of the Year; and John Curley from KING 5’s Evening Magazine.

Photo courtesy Photography by Steven.