Walker, Yates earn top education awards
Fenton Education Foundation will make presentations at Sept. 7 Black-Tie Awards Dinner
The Fenton Education Foundation will honor two award recipients at its annual Black Tie Awards Dinner this Thursday, Sept. 7 at The Laundry in Fenton.
The annual event celebrates the academic achievement and careers of Fenton’s community members and school faculty members.
This year’s award winners are former Fenton school board president and owner of Hartland Insurance Agency, David Walker, who will receive The State Bank Community Contribution to Education Award and former Fenton Superintendent Peggy Yates. She will receive the Edward H. and Nancy E. Petruska Lifetime Achievement in Education Award.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by a seven-course dinner and program at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $250 per person.
“It’s a sell-out every year,” said Pat Lockwood, vice chair of the FEF Board of Directors. “In the past 10 years, this event has raised over $250,000 to support academics, athletics and the arts.”
As of press-time, there were still a handful of tickets left, and interested persons can contact Lockwood at (810) 516-9480.
About David Walker...
Winner of The State Bank Community Contribution to Education Award
David Walker served on the Fenton Board of Education for 16 years, four of them as president. He chose not to run for re-election in 2011, as reported in a Tri-County Times article dated April 22, 2011. “I’ve been on the board since 1992,” said Walker. “It’s time to let someone else step up and take the position.”
Walker said that he enjoyed interacting with students, teachers and administrators during his time on the board, and watching the Fenton area grow.
Walker and his wife, Barbara, own Hartland Insurance Agency. Both of their children graduated from Fenton schools.
About Peggy Yates...
Winner of the Edward H. and Nancy E. Petruska Lifetime Achievement in Education Award
Peggy Yates began her career in 1972 at Holy Family School in Grand Blanc and spent the next 38 years in the field of education.
She came to Fenton in 1997 as the high school assistant principal, then became principal, director of instruction and her final position as superintendent, which she held until her retirement in 2010.
At the time of her retirement, when asked about her greatest accomplishments in Fenton, she said it was introducing the International Baccalaureate (IB) program to the district and the passage of the $41.5-million bond, which enabled the district to build AGS Middle School in 2000.
Yates now resides in Charlevoix with her husband, Dave Gallinet.
