By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.—PLUS Endowment had quite a 20th birthday bash Monday night, awarding $76,729 to educators in the Henry County and Paris Special Schools districts.
Since the beginning of PLUS Endowment, grants have been given for a wide variety of innovative and educational projects that would not otherwise be available in the classrooms. Since that first year, a total of $491,576 has been awarded to local educators for special projects.
This year was especially special, with the PLUS Endowment founder William Atchison on hand to speak about its history. Atchison is a former Henry County Schools Superintendent and now lives in Florida.
Monday’s event was presented in a different format than previous years, with a dessert reception held at First United Methodist Church rather than a full banquet.
A total of 137 grants were awarded out of 195 applications received.
In 2017, PLUS began awarding a Mega grant worth $5,000 and this year’s recipient was Henry School for it’s the project ‘Ag-stravaganza’ written by Principal David Kibbler, James Bates and Flynn Watson.
Three William Atchison grants were awarded this year:
$2,000 to Todd Latta and Skylar Haley of Inman School for the Full Steam Ahead project.
$1,169 to John Anderson of HCHS for Turning Ideas Into 3D
$2,000 to Shay Armstrong of Lakewood for Show Me the World—One Trip at a Time.
The blended county and city grant for $1,150 was awarded for Reality Day by county and Inman counselors.
Surprise funds were awarded to Dr. Norma Gerrell for the Happy Camper Book Club, $1,500; and Leah Howe for Bridging the Gap for $1,500.
Atchison shared with the audience the beginnings of PLUS, noting the original 12 board members: Larry Blackman, Ken Goddard, Johnny Gray, Steve Greer, Rosie Johnson, Susan Jones, Dr. Bo Richardson, Randy Stephens, Roger Veazey, Betty Wheat and Bill Williams.
He remembered writing a two-page proposal explaining “why I thought this was important,” Atchison said, and noted that the 12 charter members worked hard to make PLUS the success it is now.
Current board members noted that PLUS could not be what it is without donations and sponsors and they noted that the local Knights of Columbus have become a large benefactor for the program. Board Member Steve Blount also noted that for the first time this year, a significant corporate donation was received from outside Henry Co. Dupont in New Johnsonville made a ‘very generous donation’ to the program, he said.
Winners of this year’s grants:
$395 from the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, presented by Linda Fields of the Friends group, given to Lee Ann Durham of Lakewood.
Preschool- Second
1. Animal Scientist-Alicia Jones; 2nd at Rhea; $500
2. Don’t Be Board with Graphing and Math; Gina Brush; 1st at Rhea; $432
3. Ready, Set, Play! –Ashley James and Brooke French; K at Rhea; $500 each
4. The Very Creative Kindergarteners- Denise Outen; K at Rhea; $500
5. Reading Made ?Versatile?- Melanie Hendon; 1st at Rhea; $480
6. Therapy Boxes- Shayna Busche; K-2nd at Rhea; $500
7. Marvelous Measurement- Holly Peale; 2nd at Rhea; $500
8. Illumination Literacy- Kimberly Underhill; 2nd at Rhea; $500
9. Flipping for Learning- Cheri Hayes; 1st at Rhea; $499
10. Tremendous Ten Frames- Miranda Miller and Jenny Hutson; 1st at Rhea; $429
11. Magnificent Manipulatives- Kim McDaniel, Morgan Frey, Rebecca Peale; 1st at Rhea; $470
12. Fine Motor Fun!- Jordan Williams; K at Rhea; $475
13. Light the Way to Learning- Sarah Rowlett; K at Rhea; $500
14. RDW Spells Math- Katie Staggs; 1st at Harrelson; $300
15. Strong Brains, Strong Hearts!- Amanda Allbritten; K at Harrelson; $135
16. From a Small Seed Comes Knowledge- Katie Staggs; 1st at Harrelson; $289
17. STEM for 2nd- A future of Engineers-Tandy Rye; 2nd at Harrelson; $442
18. See the community We Never Knew- Jana Bruce; K at Henry; $455
19. It’s a Fine Time to Write- Kimberley Wallett; K at Lakewood Elem. ; $500
20. It Ended How? Kim Fowlkes, Starr Peterson, Stacy Cunningham, Brittany McCoy, and Amanda Swisher; 1st at Lakewood Elem. ; $500
21. Book Binding for Budding Authors- Katie O’Brien; K at Lakewood Elem. ; $500
22. It All Makes Sense- Christy Hendricks; Preschool at Lakewood Elem. ; $493
23. Active Learning- Amanda Mason and Christy Hendricks; Preschool at Lakewood Elem. ; $500
Total requested= $14,751
Grant budget= $10,899
Grades 3 -5
1. I’m an Archeolibrarianologist…I dig good books!- Tracey Bomar 3rd; PES; $500
2. Dog-Gone Writing and Reading- Julie Webb; 3rd at PES; $500
3. Can You Hear Me Now?!- Lauren Poteete and Amanda Belisle; 5th at PES; $500 each
4. Break into Reading- Melissa Hopkins; 3rd-6th at PES ; $425
5. Being VersaTile in the 20th Century- Susanne Collins; 4th at PES; $480
6. Latitude, Longitude, and Learning..- Kim Watson; 3rd at PES; $329
7. Can You Hear Me Now?- Olivia Smith; 3rd-5th at PES; $480
8. Brick by Brick-– Elisabeth Cope, Julie Webb, Devona May, Missy Boley, Xanne Harrison, Kim Watson, Tracey Bomar, Greg Lassiter; 3rd at PES; $500 each
9. Experiment. Fail, Learn. Repeat!- Emily Townsend, Dana Jackson, Amanda Wilson, JJ Cooper; 5th at Lakewood Elementary; $500
10. A Taste of Italy- Pam Young; 3rd-4th for Kids Corner and math at Lakewood Elementary; $500
11. Full STEAM Ahead; Linda Armour and Leigh Anne Durham; 3rd-12th grades at Harrelson, Lakewood, Grove, and HCHS; $482
12. Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails- Amy Steel man and Jade Newton; 3rd at Lakewood Elementary; $500
13. Space and Sound All Around- Kristi Williams and Tweed McKinney; 3rd at Lakewood Elementary; $500
14. R2 You 2 STEM Lab-Kathy Heath; Lakewood Elementary; $500
Total requested=$14664
Grant Budget = $10,696
Grades 6-8
1. A Novel Idea-Shanna Watkins; Inman; $500
2. Family Science Night- Sandra Paschall; Inman; $500
3. Electrifying Experience-Candice Wyatt; Inman; $435
4. Wiggle Math- Teresa Mayo; Inman; $500
5. Where in the World are the Ancient Civilizations?- Nick Coleman; Inman; $500
6. Increasing Our Compre-HEN-sion- Josh Hendricks; Inman; $493
7. Move Minds- Math Lounge- Dana Christian and Sarah Anderson; Inman; $500 each
8. “Crunch! Munch! Lunch Bunch Book Club- Colby Prosser; Harrelson; $500
9. Civil War Days- April Scarbrough; Harrelson ; $500
10. Meteorological Madness- Lora McCampbell; Lakewood Middle; $256
Total requested= $6466
Budget amount= $5184
Grove School; 9th grade
- Fast ForWord: Reading Role Models –Rachel Petty; $500
2. FCCLA Dress for Success- Janet Pearce: $455
3. Future Rockhounds of America- Amanda Mason; $500
4. “This is Me after 2023”-Andrea Fuller; $447
5. Are We Growing Organic?- Rose Fekete; $426
6. Why Fear Shakespeare?- Courtney Melton; $450
7. Pi Day-Karen Dukes; $500
8. Engineering Virtual- Ben Burkhart; $500
9. What?? You really do that in Agriculture?!?!- Ryan Inman; $500
Total requested= $5578
Grant Budget = $4,278
HCHS; grades 10-12
- Music Amplied- Katherine Sam; $400; grades 6-12
2. LIFE ON POINT- Callie Blount; $398
3. Caution, Student Driver!- Ryan Muench; $496
4. You just bowled a Turkey!- Wes Malone; $482
5. Make –Up Artist Workshop- James Matthew Wyatt; $500
6. Burn Baby, Burn!!!- James Counce; $495
7. Speak Up!- Jessica Borens-Lemons; $349
8. One Fish, Two Fish, Rojo Fish, Azul Fish- Tiffany Dunn; $500
9. Spike Ball, Pickle Ball, but no Tom Brady Footballs- Mike Greer; $492
10. “Speak Out”- Linda Miller; $500
11. You Want Me to Grow What?- Laura Moss; $500
12. Reading to Make a Difference- Roddy Adkisson; $500
13. Success Team 1- Leah Nolen; $500
14. Success Team 2- Bobby Ellis; $500
15. Success Team 3- Stephen England; $500
16. Success Team 4- Matt Chisolm; $500
Total requested= $10, 062
Grant Budget = $7,612
Multiple Grades
1. Locked in the Library- Jessica Homesley; Rhea, grades K-2; $425
2. “Ag-tually-We LOVE to Read- Ag-buddy experience; Sarah Rowlett and Laura Moss; Rhea K and HCHS; $484
3. Locked in the Library- Susanna Murphey; 3rd-5th at PES; $425
4. SCORING with Polo in PES- Tom Cate;3rd-5th at PES; $500
5. Save a Life-Teaching CPR to Kids- Sarah Luffman;3rd-5th at PES; $487
6. Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About- Kristin Nickell; K-3rd-at Rhea and PES; $449
7. Booting up the Sight Reading Factory App- Angie Hawkins; K-8 for Rhea,PES, and Inman; $405
8. Feed them, Love The, Grow Them!- Amanda Allbritten; K-8 for Harrelson; $350
9. Reading through ART- Traci Thomas-Shankle; 3rd-8th for Harrelson; $270
10. The Saturday Enlightment- Traci Shankle, Valerie Godina, and Mary Kate Paschall; 7th and 8th grade for Harrelson, Henry, Lakewood; $500
11. Getting Physical with GaGa Pits and Playground Fun- Holly Thompson; 6th-8th for Harrelson; $500
12. Organizensational!-Heather Kingery; K-8th for Harrelson; $500
13. Festival Band Furthers Sightreading- Lucy Presson and Joey Sam; 6th-8th grades for Harrelson, Henry, Inman, and Lakewood Middle; $451
14. Feeding Bodies, Hearts, and Minds Through Gardening; Chari Fleenor, Val Godina and Velvet Lamb; k-7th at Henry; $500
15. Instrument Exploration in the music room- Katherine Sam; Prek- 4th at Henry; $500
16. Living Classroom Music Wall- Valerie Godina; Prek-8th at Henry; $488
17. Adult ESL Art Skills- Valerie Godina and Katie Hernandez; Adult program at Henry; $500
18. Adult ESL Life Skills- Katie Hernandez; Adult program at Henry; $500
19. Bring Them In- Lisa Olive; Prek-8th at Henry; $500
20. Grief Toolkit- Carrie Burns and Brandi Besand; Prek-8th at Lakewood; $499
21. For the Love of Literature- David Weatherly; 4th-8th at Lakewood; $500
Total requested $11,996
Grant budget = $9,733
Special Education
- Electrical Engineers- ALPS 5th Grade; PES; $463
2. Put a Spark in It-; 3rd Grade ALPS at PES; $498
3. SIMPLY READING- Olivia Smith and Tracey Bomar; 3rd-5th at PES; $285
4. Good Vibes Only!- Alex Edgin- 6th-8th at Inman; $500
5. Fingers of the Future- IMS ALPS team-6th-8th grades; $437
6. Could you sit still for 90 Minutes?- Rachel Petty; 9th at Grove; $500
7. Soothing Sensory Tools for Superstars!- Heather Kingery; K-8th at Harrelson; $500
8. What’s Cookin?- Heather Lindsey; 10-12th at HCHS; $500
9. Don’t Tell Me to Calm Down!- Roddy Adkisson;10-12th at HCHS; $500
10. Versatililty through Versa Tiles-Samantha Wagner- 1st-6th at Lakewood Elem. ; $500
11. Livin’ and Learnin’-Life Cycle Science- Amanda Mason-Inclusion Preschool at Lakewood Elem.; $500
12. A Lost Art- Leigh Anne Durham- Gifted program at Lakewood and Grove; $120
13. Life Long Lesson; Kelly Baker- K-8th at Lakewood School; $500
14. Life Skills in the Wild!- Kimmi Stevens; K-8th at Lakewood School; $466
15. Oh Happy Day!- Kelly Baker; K-8th at Lakewood School; $500
Total requested= $9269
75% Budgeted amount= $6,769
School Liaisons
- Rhea – Erin Sinclair – “Up for the Challenge” $500
2. PES – Lisa Williams – “Star Bucks” $500
3. Inman – Landa Elizondo – “Ancient Civilizations Tic-Tac-Toe” $500
4. E. W. Grove – Lisa Wyatt – “Ladies & gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Presenting….” $500
5. Harrelson – Jennifer Petronico – “SWIS for RTI2-B Behavior program” $500
6. Henry – Angie Cook – “Fill Your House With Stacks of Books” $500
7. HCHS – Pam McCord – “Move Over Bill Gates, I’m the Next Big Thing” $500
8. Lakewood Elementary – Danette Jones – “My Buddy” $500
9. Lakewood Middle – Morgan Bruce – “Ready, Set, Action!” $500
10. PSSD Central Office – Becky Cate – “Dream Big Designers” $500
11. HCSS Central Office – Susan Burton – “Resources for School Counseling Prog” $500
TOTAL : $5500
Top photo: Henry Principal David Kibbler, James Bates and Flynn Watson, winners of the $5,000 Mega Grant; bottom photo: PLUS Founder William Atchison. (Shannon McFarlin photos).