NISD business and community members, as well as District employees, will come together to âfeel the magic of making an impactâ at the annual Endowment Banquet and Pillar Recognition, sponsored by the Northside Education Foundation (NEF).
The black tie gala will be held Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort. Proceeds from a silent and live auction hope to add to the $1 million endowment that was reached last year at the same event. The highlight of the evening will be the introduction of the 2004 Pillars of Northsideâs Foundation, six outstanding former NISD students representing the six pillars of character â caring, trustworthiness, fairness, citizenship, responsibility, and respect. They are:
Pillar of Caring: Robert Reyes, Taft High School -- Class of â98. Naval Petty Officer First Class Robert Reyes, 24, a member of the Taft High School water polo and swim teams just five years ago, has been awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. He received the medal for rescuing four shipmates whose helicopter crashed in rough seas while operating from the USS Kearsarge just off the coast of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea in June 2001. While sports and ROTC kept him busy during high school, he now stays busy serving in a Search and Rescue Squadron in Pensacola, Fla. When asked by news reporters where he learned to save lives, Reyes replied, âTaft High School, sir!â
Pillar of Fairness: Phillip C. McKee, Health Careers High School â Class of â90. After graduating from Health Careers High School, Philip McKee attended Yale, Princeton and Harvard universities, all the while volunteering in soup kitchens, with Special Olympics, and as an EMT in Boston and Washington, D.C. After four years as a Director with the National Fraud Information Center (a joint venture of the National Consumers League), and taking time out to study in a Catholic monastery, he became a full-time firefighter in Arlington County, Va. McKee was just returning from a house fire on Sept. 11 when American Flight #77 crashed into the Pentagon. McKee and his entire firefighting team were subsequently awarded the Medal for Valorous Effort. Not one to let the 911 injuries that left him and other members of his crew disabled for life slow him down, the 2004 Pillar of Fairness is a stained glass artist whose work is exhibited in Europe and at Yale University.
Pillar of Citizenship: Tamra Lynn Haby Johnson, Marshall High School â Class of â97. As a little girl at Helotes Elementary School, Tamra Lynn Haby Johnson wanted to be an astronaut. Since graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a degree in aeronautics and astronautics, she is an aerospace engineer who has worked for such âouter-spaceâ places as National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), Boeing Rocketdyne, Hughes Space and Communications. She is now working on the Jupiter Mission for Northrup Gruhmman in California, and preparing to return to MIT to earn an advanced degree. While at Marshall High School, this 25-year-old learned that good citizenship can best be practiced through community service, thus she founded the MIT Hunger Hike to help Bostonâs homeless, cyber-mentored kindergartners in science with MIT LINKS, and tutored high school athletes. She is also preparing to run yet another Boston Marathon.
Pillar of Respect: Jeffrey Hoberman, Clark High School â Class of â85. A resident of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jeffrey Hoberman is just as likely to find himself in Chile or Ecuador or Washington, D.C., where he works to improve the economies of South American countries as co-CEO of Recovery, an economic development company. After graduating from Clark High School, Yale University, and Harvard Law School, Hoberman won a Ford Foundation Fellowship, which landed him at the Ministry of Economy in Argentina, where he helped reform bankruptcy laws. By 1995, he was advisor to the President of Argentinaâs Banco Hipotecario and successfully arranged the first internationally-placed mortgage bonds. His new company (major stockholder is SOROS) is dedicated to strengthening local and provincial governments in developing countries, utilizing advanced technology to improve government services. Treating people with respect â in three or more languages â defines Jeffrey Hoberman, our 2004 Pillar of Respect.
Pillar of Responsibility: Eldridge Burns, Jr., Clark High School â Class of â87. Eldridge Burns, Jr., 35, the 2004 Pillar of Responsibility, knows the law inside out as Senior Corporate Counsel for Blockbuster, Inc. As a student at Clark High School, Burns was Captain of the Cougar Soccer Team, selected to the all-state team, and was recognized by his peers by being elected Homecoming King, Student-of-the-Year, Senior Class Vice President, Student Council member, and Best All-Around Student. He attended Southern Methodist University and The University of Texas Law School, and joined the firm of Vinson and Elkins, LLP upon graduation. Among his other jobs, Burns ensures that your corner Blockbuster Video Store (one of over 8,000 in the world) has excellent access for the handicapped. In Dallas, site of Blockbuster corporate headquarters, Burns is a member of the Steering Committee for the Texas Minority Council Program. He is also active in the Young Lawyers Association.
Pillar of Trustworthiness: Johnny Bordano, Marshall High School â Class of â64. Four years after graduating from Texas A&M University, Johnny Bordano returned to his high school alma mater as a science teacher. When he retired from the District 30 years later, he had been vice principal at Holmes High School, assistant superintendent in SWISD, principal of Sul Ross Middle School, and principal of Marshall High School. In addition, he was named Principal-of-the-Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. Bordanoâs trustworthiness, evident since he was a high school athlete and service club leader, produced a number of âfirstsâ for NISD: the first high school PREP Days, the first middle school block schedule, the first girlsâ softball field, and the first (and biggest) business partnership: a million-dollar scholarship and mentoring program that continues today at Sul Ross with The Capital Group. In partnership with his four children and seven grandchildren, Bordano now operates construction and landscaping businesses in South Texas.
RSS 2.0 NISD News Feed
View News Archives
Printer Friendly