2021-2022 | CLASS ACT 43
in Canton. Mary Ann
Laughlin, Hasty’s Volunteer
of the Year, was named
the CCSD 2021 Volunteer
of the Year, and Revolution
Church, Hasty’s Partner of
the Year, was named the
CCSD 2021 Partner of the
Year.
“We deeply appreciate
all of our partners and
volunteers, especially over
the past year as they’ve
worked to find ways to
support us and serve even
though they could not be in
our classrooms or at special
events. We’re not just a
School District, we’re a
community and a family,
and we’re better thanks to
the service of our volunteers
and partners,” Dr.
Hightower said. “Revolution
Church and Mary are
outstanding examples of
servant leadership. Knowing
the pandemic would
affect their usual roles, they
were quick to ask how they
could change their service
to best meet our needs, and
then they pivoted and
delivered with joy.”
The annual program
recognizes a Partner of the
Year and a Volunteer of the
Year for each individual
school and center; the
overall CCSD Partner of the
Year and Volunteer of the
Year are selected from that
pool of candidates by a
committee made up of
retired educators.
In her nomination of
Ms. Laughlin, Principal Dr.
Maria Rosario-Regan
praised the retired educator
for her willingness to
“remotely volunteer” by
taking on projects that she
and her team of fellow
Hickory Flat United Methodist
Church members
could complete at home.
She assembles tools for
teachers to use for classroom
instruction from
hands-on activity kits to
easy reader books, and
collects donations for the
school from literacy initiative
rewards to holiday gifts
for students in need.
Volunteers like Ms. Laughlin,
she said, are “few and
far between.”
In her nomination of
Revolution Church, Dr.
Rosario-Regan noted
numerous ways they
support Hasty throughout
the school year, the greatest
of which over the past
year has been its support
of the school’s food pantry.
When COVID-19’s
economic impact hurt the
school’s families, the
church delivered truckloads
of groceries, household
items and toiletries
week after week to support
them. “During a time of
stress and uncertainty,
Revolution brought peace
and comfort to our families,
and we will be forever
grateful,” she said.
The Partner of the Year
and Volunteer of the Year
Awards are sponsored by
the Cherokee County
Educational Foundation.
Partner of the Year, Revolution Church. From left, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower,
Assistant Principal Sandi Harrison, Zip Cain with Revolution Church, Hasty ES Principal Dr. Maria
Rosario-Regan, Lead Pastor Jason Gerdes, and David Stein, Canton Campus Pastor.
Volunteer of the Year, Mary Ann Laughlin. From left, Dr. Brian
Hightower, Superintendent; Sandi Harrison, Assistant Principal
at Hasty ES; CCSD Volunteer of the Year Mary Ann Laughlin; Dr.
Maria Rosario-Regan, Principal of Hasty ES; and Gwen Freeman,
Parent Engagement Facilitator at Hasty ES.