Everyday on St. Martha’s campus there are people going above and beyond to make our community great! We’ve launched a new award program – called the ShamWOW! award – to share their stories and shine a light on these students, faculty, staff and parishioners who are often “unsung heroes.”
We are excited to announce our inaugural ShamWOW! winners named during Catholic Schools Week! Recipients corresponded to each of the things we celebrated that week and received a small lapel pin as a small token of appreciation.
Know someone who goes above and beyond for our St. Martha community? Nominate them for a ShamWOW! award. Forms are available in the school and parish office.
On Monday, we celebrated the nation and the many brave men and women who sacrifice so much to protect our country – people like Melissa Shawler– a St. Martha alum and mom to Daniel Bisig. Melissa is very active in the Boy Scouts at St. Martha, helping the scouts grow, develop and learn new skills. She has served in the U.S. Army for more than 11 years where she’s been responsible for the proper and efficient operation of an Army Reserve Unit with 70 assigned soldiers, including 4 active duty soldiers. She currently performs duties as Assistant Inspector General for the Army Reserve Aviation Command.
On Tuesday, we celebrated our Students and recognized Gena Morgan. Gena Morgan is an 8thgrader at St. Martha who just won First Place in the Catholic Education Foundation Art contest. Her picture was framed and displayed at the Catholic Schools Mass on Tuesday which was attended by students from schools across the archdiocese. It will also be featured in some Catholic Education Foundation publications as well. Gena is hardworking and diligent at whatever she puts her mind to, whether that be school, sports or extracurricular activities. She takes on extra work in addition to her daily routine of tasks, is kind to others and displays a Christian attitude.
On Wednesday, we celebrated Vocations – and Don Clark’scommitment to St. Martha has been a vocation in and of itself. These days, you will find Don preparing the church for EVERY weekday mass, performing Communion Services at Klondike Nursing Home, serving on the Flaget Alumni Board, or working with area high schools to plan and perform burial prayer services for the indigent who often have little family or no family to handle their final arrangements. In his time at St. Martha, Don has worn many other “hats” as well. He and his wife Anne have been members of the parish for 51 years and his 3 children attended St. Martha school . Don has served as president of Sports Ministry , been a member of the Parish Council, and worked EVERY picnic from 1972 to 2002 (including the 10 years his wife led the picnic committee!)
On Thursday, we celebrated Giving Back to our community – and few exemplify this more than the Steve Weihe. You may have recently seen his handiwork….over Christmas Break he supported his son Andrew’s Eagle Scout project – a complete remodel of the teacher’s lounge! The ways Steve gives back to St. Martha are countless – he serves on parish council, he’s a Scout leader, he’s Vice President of Sports Ministry, he’s part of the Sunday football field crew, he’s our concession manager, he’s the Martha Gras finance chair, he’s a picnic booth captain, he’s our archery coordinator and he’s a basketball and volleyball coach. Those who work with Steve say “he’s just an integral part of our parish who you can always count on and is a source of constant encouragement, friendship and support.”
Friday, we celebrated our Faculty, Staff and Volunteers! This is Annette Thornsberry’s 20thyear teaching at St. Martha – the majority of those as our art teacher. Mrs. Thornsberry believes art involves all the senses, integrates all core subjects, and helps students learn to solve problems. She leads multiple art clubs for students from grades 1st-8th. All of the art in the newly renovated school office comes from Mrs. Thornsberry and her students! She also has a fantastic track record leading students to win pretty major awards for their work. She’s had 3 winners of the Catholic Education Foundation Art Contest in the last 12 years! And countless more winners of other art contests. We also have Mrs. Thornsberry to thank for the Spring Art show at Conferences every year where parents can get original pieces of their student’s art work. She’s also behind the highly sought-after class pieces that are auctioned each year at Martha Gras. Decades of parents now have platters and pitchers adorned with their children’s classmates’ fingerprints and art. When she’s not in the classroom, Mrs. Thornsberry can be found monitoring the lunchroom and – regardless of weather conditions – making sure students stay safe during carpool time.
