Pictured from left to right: Caralyn Ross, Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education President, Chris Carosa, Publisher of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel and Colin Pierce, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations. Photo by Steve Dawes
On Friday, May 3,2024, at the Paychex Junior Achievement Discovery Center at Kodak Center, A Community Together (ACT) for Education and the 20+ public school districts in our region announced the 2024 Community Champions for Public Education. Among those recognized were Chris Carosa, Publisher of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel and Becky Wehle, President and CEO of Genesee Country Village & Museum.
Patricia J. Leva, President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Central Upstate New York, Inc. recognized each of the Community Champions individually. She said The Sentinel was noteworthy “for their exceptional work in highlighting the HF-L school district, addressing challenges with care and understanding, and celebrating academic successes, extracurricular achievements, and the many talents that make our district special, we congratulate Chris and the team at The Sentinel and thank them for sparking inspiration and pride.”
Gene Mancuso, Superintendent of Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District, added, “A champion is a business who not only supports the school but is truly a champion for kids. The coverage of the students of the district is something we are very proud of. Congratulations Chris. Well deserved!”
Pictured from left to right: Lynda Quick, WCCSD Superintendent, Beth Bojarski, Genesee Country Village & Museum Sr. Director of Programs, Elizabeth Wehle, Genesee Country Village & Museum President and CEO and Shanna Fraser, WCCSD Board Vice President. Sentinel photo
Of Wehle and the GCV&M, Leva said, “Becky works tirelessly fostering opportunities for Wheatland-Chili students — and public students all across the Genesee Valley region — to travel back in time to fully immerse themselves in the history of the region. Genesee Country Village and Museum’s dedication to learning through living history has endured for nearly 50 years and only continues to grow thanks to its extensive educational programming. It offers countless school field trips, enrichment activities, youth classes and spring and summer camp. They also offer workshops and grants for educators. The Wheatland-Chili Central School District is fortunate to have this incredible resource in its back yard. Thank you to Becky, the many Genesee Country Village & Museum ’s educators, and the entire organization for all the opportunities it provides to students.”
“A Community Together (ACT) for Education launched in 2012 founded on the belief that great things happen every day, in every school,” says Jo Anne Antonacci, District Superintendent of Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES and Chair of ACT for Education. “More than ten years later, that belief is stronger than ever. The ACT for Education coalition, comprised of our 22 public school districts and business and community partners, has continued its mission: to celebrate the impact of local public schools in our region, using a unified voice and community partnership. This was our 4th Annual Community Champion for Public Education Award Ceremony. We gathered together to celebrate and express gratitude for the people and the partners that support our local schools, and in turn, make our communities flourish. The event showed firsthand the power of community collaboration.”
ACT published a complete list of the 2024 Community Champions on its website.
