To the editor:

The 2019 spring benefit concert held on May 3 at the Brown County High School Auditorium, hosted by the Brown County PTO Council, was a great success. It was a very special and meaningful evening appreciating all our teachers and staff of Brown County Schools and also honoring Mrs. Coral Hamlin, Mr. Ed Santos, Dr. Carol Walker, and Mrs. Janice Cassiday, whom we have sadly lost. The event also honored the retiring teachers and staff such as Ms. Kristine Briles, Mr. Dave Chastain, Ms. Connie Darling and Mr. Tom Ferry. It was a great reminder of the pride and gratitude that our Brown County Schools have all those outstanding teachers, staff and parents who have been deeply dedicated to our students and their education.

PTO Council would like to sincerely thank all who have participated in this great event.

First of all, we would like to thank Dr. Laura Hammack, our beloved superintendent, for her unwavering support for PTOs and for this event, and deeply thank Mr. Matthew Stark, Mr. Brian Garman, Mr. Trent Austin, and Dr. Laurie Godfrey for sharing the great lives of those educators and parent volunteers we honored through the concert.

We also thank Mrs. Kelli Bruner, Mr. Shane Killinger and Mr. Gavin Steele for their support for the event. We also thank Dr. Laurie Godfrey and her outstanding student tech group who made the event operate flawlessly. We also thank Mr. Matthew Finley, Ms. Christi Billings and Mr. Daniel Lyng, who not only have supported the event as music teachers, but also beautifully performed for the event. We also thank Mr. Brian Galm for being our wonderful emcee for the night. We also thank Ronna Snyder, Julie Garrity Pam Bond, Christy Pruitt, Kelly Morse, Christi Crimmins and Debbie Hilligoss for their great administrative support.

We also thank the following students, teachers, parents and local musicians who performed the music for the concert: Alayna Jacobus (and Ms. Bridget Rinehimer assisting her), Nicole Prosch, Katiana Richardson, Nate Tipton, Francesca Mata, Adelyn Roush, Jeff Foster, Mary Jo Lowe, Eli deWeerdt, John Whitcomb and his band, and Mr. Daniel Lyng and Brown County Junior High School choir students.

Also we would like to thank Jason Kirchhofer, Jim Bond and Kelly Rudd for setting up the cafeteria and serving the food. Our big thanks goes to local restaurants who generously donated dinner and beverages that served more than 100 teachers, staff and the guests: Big Woods Pizza, Brown County Inn, Brozinni Pizzeria, Johnny’s Grub To Go, Salt Creek Golf Retreat and IGA.

Also, we would like to especially thank all who have donated gift certificates or products for the free drawing gifts for teachers and staff who attended the event and made them all very happy with your generosity: Brown County YMCA; Brown County Parks & Recreation; Our Sandwich Place; Chocolate Moose; Sweetea’s; Big Woods Pizza; Gaia’s Touch; Beth Drew Mary Kay; Miller’s Ice Cream; Brown Bike; Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls; Feast Market Bloomington (run by Brown County parent Jennifer Burt); Christy McGinley Soap Company; Mandy Simmons Hair Salon; NBC Nails & Salon; Daily Grind; Touch of Silver, Gold and Old; Jack & Jill Nut Shop; Salt Creek Golf Retreat; Hope for Hearts Horse Farm; Casa del Sol; Colleen Smith and Kids on Wheels; The Wild Olive; and Dr. Theresa Kang and East Asian Studies Center at IU.

We also thank deeply Mr. Chris Townsend and Eagle Manufacturing students who have generously donated the beautiful gifts of the wooden plaques for the honorees, retirees, and their families. We also would like to thank Sara Clifford, Suzannah Couch and the Brown County Democrat newspaper who have generously advertised our event through their news articles.

We also would like to thank Danielle Watson, Suzie Watson, Barbara Jacobus, Amanda Middleton, Nate Tipton and Amanda Grider, Mrs. Terri Whitcomb and Brown County Junior High Honor Society students for supporting the event by picking up the food, decorating the cafeteria and serving the guests and programs.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank all Brown County PTOs who have dedicated their hard work and precious time for all the great school events, projects and enrichment programs all year along to bring better education support for all our students and teachers: Helmsburg PTO — Kimberly Spencer, Lorna Reichmann, Erika Bryenton and Jodie Silbaugh; Sprunica PTO — Natalie Van Zuiden, Ryan Oliver, Billie Thomas and Amy Gordon; Van Buren PTO — Heather Sawyer, Maggie Allison, April Evans, Jayne Jones and Kristi Johnson; Brown County Intermediate School Partnership Committee — Luke Jacobus, Barbara Jacobus, Amanda Middleton and Michelle Roberson; and the junior high PTO — Allison O’Shea, Gretchen Tipton, Danielle Watson and Loriann Voss. PTO Council, a network of all PTOs in Brown County, is so happy to appreciate and acknowledge all those great parent and teacher volunteers who have made the 2019 spring benefit concert possible and successful. Also, we would like to sincerely thank our beautiful and generous Brown County community who have come to support this event and our PTOs.

All the PTOs (parent-teacher-organizations) in Brown County truly matter to our school community, and thanks again for supporting our hard-working and dedicated educators and wonderfully growing students. We are Brown County!

Brown County PTO Council (submitted by Clara Stanley)

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