Tokens of Appreciation Headed to Washington, D.C.

A little piece of the Clover Park School District is headed to the nation’s capital.

This week, Superintendent Debbie LeBeau and board member Joe Vlaming will deliver commemorative coins to U.S. senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and representatives Adam Smith and Norm Dicks during a trip to Washington, D.C.,  for the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS) conference.

The idea for the coin, which has the district logo on one side and the school board’s values on the other, came from the military, said Kim Prentice, the district’s director of community relations.

“A commander or sergeant will give you a coin as a token to basically acknowledge the good or hard things you’ve done,” she said. “And for many years, our U.S. legislators have supported our school district and the things we have done regarding impact aid and support for military families.”

LeBeau called the four members of Congress “steadfast in their support and instrumental in the efforts” to help get funding to build new schools on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“They have taken a difficult stance and been diligent in their support of the Clover Park School District and military families,” she said. “We come to visit and we ask for things, and this is just a small token of our appreciation that we recognize that they’re advocating on our behalf.”

LeBeau said that gifts beyond a certain monetary value cannot be given, but that the school board wanted to give the legislators something that they could display in their offices. Each coin is affixed to a certificate of merit signed by the board.

Besides, said board vice president Carole Jacobs, “What do you give to someone who gets stuff from all over the place?”

When a school-board member wants to give a coin to someone—often an educator, member of the civic community or business—they draft a summary of action, explaining whom is deserving and why that person or group should be awarded a coin. The five board members each have their own coins to disperse, but others, including the ones going to Washington, are awarded jointly.

Prentice said that one day of the NAFIS conference gives school representatives an opportunity to interact and share concerns with their legislators and that LeBeau and Vlaming will present the coins to Murray, Cantwell, Dicks and Smith during those sessions.

“We’re here and they’re back in D.C.,” she said. “They never realize how grateful people really are for what we know they are doing and for what they are representing.”

Jacobs said that awarding a coin is a big honor—her first recipient was Caring For Kids founder Diane Formoso. She said that the board came up with the idea during a retreat about four years ago, and “it’s something a little bit different (to show) that they made a difference.”

Jacobs said that her most memorable experience came last year, when she gave a coin to a Clover Park wrestler who was competing for a state berth—and let his opponent, a special-needs student, win.

“He didn’t let him win; he didn’t throw it, but this kid had never won anything in his life,” Jacobs said. “It was like, that’s a warrior—something that people do above and beyond the call of duty. Everyone was in tears.”