Copperas Cove resident named one of 15 Texas Heroes for Children
Special to Leader-Press
Mary Ann Jack may be retired, but she has not stopped advocating for the children of Copperas Cove ISD. Her willingness to utilize her time, talent, and skills to support students earned Jack the Texas State Board of Education Hero for Children Award. She is one of only 15 selected statewide.
Jack was recently honored at the September CCISD Board of Trustees meeting with a plaque presentation from SBOE District 14 Representative Sue Melton-Malone.
“She is a passionate and dedicated volunteer, and serving the students of her community is her primary focus,” Melton-Malone said. “As a founding member of the Miss Five Hills Scholarship Program, she has put her stamp on its fundraising efforts, including securing sponsorships, which requires a special talent to master.
Under Ms. Jack’s guidance, the program awarded more than $110,000 in scholarships and prizes in 2021. Since 2014, the program has awarded close to $500,000 in various forms of scholarships and prizes, such as new laptops that greatly benefited deserving students.”
Jack’s volunteer service extends to helping create graphics for the different activities and prepares music beds for student fundraisers. Often, she is found facilitating the front table at all fundraisers selling tickets and taking admission fees, and she also helps with set-up and tear down and never leaves before clean-up is completed.
“Honestly, there is nothing Mrs. Jack does not do when asked. She is dependable, responsible and regularly brings new ideas to the organization to support our students,” said CCISD Director of Communications Wendy Sledd who nominated Jack for the award. “Her efforts have assisted in this organization purchasing sensory classroom equipment for the district, starting Blessings in a Backpack programs at our schools to ensure students do not go hungry on the weekends, purchasing tools to assist students with dyslexia, raising money for our CCISD Special Olympics team, teen suicide prevention, anti-bulllying initiatives, and the list goes on.”
Jack was honored at a ceremony in Austin on September 3 prior to being recognized at the school board meeting.
“Once my husband retired, I began volunteering with the Miss Five Hills Scholarship Program in 2014. I quickly realized I could help the students raise money for their various platforms while helping these young achievers earn their own scholarships,” Jack said. “These young titleholders learn much more than the importance of volunteering and serving their community. They learn responsibility, social skills, sportsmanship, finances, grammar, and a host of other valuable life skills that cannot be taught in the classroom alone.”
Jack is the fourth CCISD volunteer to be recognized with the Hero for Children Award in the last five years with Charles Lyons recognized in 2017, John Gallen in 2018, and Edith Natividad in 2019.