Distinguished Service Awards Go To District 202 Admin, Board Member

PLAINFIELD, IL — An administrator and Board of Education member in Plainfield School District 202 were two winners of distinguished service awards this year, officials announced. Mina Griffith, assistant superintendent of student services, and Rod Westfall, District 202 Board of Education vice president, were honored by the Illinois chapter of the National School Public Relations Association in May.

Griffith received an Award of Merit in the administrator category while Westfall was given an Award of Excellence in the Board member category. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes people who make a different in their school communities by "helping to promote public education and enhance its programs and services," according to district officials.

Director of Community Relations Tom Hernandez nominated Griffith for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The assistant superintendent was in charge of planning, coordinating and implementing District 202's health-related response and "provided strong leadership during a time of unprecedented uncertainty."

"Griffith took on this challenge while doing her day-to-day work including overseeing aspects of student discipline and special education in the district and implementing full-day kindergarten," officials said in a news release.

In Hernandez's nomination letter for Westfall, he called him a "man of the people" and someone who will do "water he can to solve someone's problem."

"His easygoing demeanor and candor make him easy to approach, knowing he will always do whatever he can to try to help," Hernandez wrote, according to the release.

The District 202 recipients were among 40 people and teams recognized with Distinguished Service Awards in categories including faculty/certified staff member, parent and support staff member. Entries were judged based on a criteria of excellence and only those "receiving top scores" received awards. Officials did not specify what categories were used for judging.