DOBSON – The face of a local educational group is stepping down at the end of the month.
Melissa White has been the liaison of the Surry County Schools Educational Foundation since it was established five years ago by a group of local business leaders who are passionate about education and the future of this county. She has worked closely with county school officials and has been a public figure for the foundation through fund-raising events.
Ashley Hutchens Mills will take White’s place.
According to its web page, the foundation believes it can increase the level of education by “helping students pursue higher education and rewarding teachers with professional learning opportunities and extraordinary classroom projects.”
Under White’s leadership, the Educational Foundation continually grew. Over the past five years, fundraisers such as the Academic Golf Classic, the MAD Dash 5K, the employee campaign and the Educational Challenge campaign have been a significant part of the total funds.
To date, the foundation has given more than $200,000 to the 19 schools in the district to assist students with educational field trips, hands-on science activities and Automated External Defibrillator machines.
The foundation was integral in establishing the Outdoor Education Center at the SCS Science Institute on the campus of Meadowview Magnet Middle School.
The group also provided teachers throughout the district the opportunity to apply and receive Enhanced Learning Mini-Grants and to participate in STEMmersion. STEMmersion is a program designed for teachers to visit local businesses looking for ways that science, technology, engineering and math skills are combined in a practical application.
“The SCS Education Foundation has become a part of the culture of SCS and our schools rely on the support of the Foundation to enhance and enrich educational experiences for our students,” said Dr. Travis L. Reeves, superintendent.
The SCS Board of Education and the Foundation board offered their thanks to White for all that she has done since the Foundation formed in January 2011.
“Mrs. White is a dedicated person and consummate professional in every aspect of her job,” said Reeves.
“She sets high expectations for herself and others. She has done an outstanding job working with the Education Foundation board, Surry County Board of Education, school system employees and area businesses in establishing strong relationships that have benefited our students and staff since the Education Foundation was established in 2011.”
“Melissa is certainly tops at everything she does. She is an extremely hard worker and has been dedicated to establishing and promoting the Foundation within the schools and community,” said Brent McKinney, Foundation board chairman. “We are going to miss her, but we know she will do well in her new endeavors.”
Ashley Mills
“We are excited to welcome Mrs. Ashley Mills to the SCS family,” said Dr. Reeves. “Mrs. Mills has extensive experience in marketing and organizing large events that will assist her as she continues the positive momentum and growth the Education Foundation is experiencing.”
Mills, like White, is a native of Surry County. She graduated in 1995 from North Surry High School. In 2000, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Queens College in Charlotte; she has a BA in English with a concentration in marketing.
She began her career as a marketing assistant where she created proposals for new project advertisements, lead formal interview technique seminars, and helped present materials to prospective clients.
Since 2003, Mills has been employed with the American Red Cross. Among her duties have been donor recruitment representative, senior donor recruitment representative, and recruitment operations supervisor.
As supervisor, she assisted in managing nine account managers of the Winston-Salem service area for an annual collection of more than 85,000 units of blood. She also supervised day-to-day operations, employee management, blood drive coordination with collections staff and monthly staff evaluations. She received the American Red Cross Employee Excellence Award in 2006 and the Integrity Selling Facilitator Graduate in 2011.
Mills and her husband, Corey, reside in the White Plains community. Their two children attend White Plains Elementary. Cassidy is a third-grader and Carleigh Jo is in kindergarten.
Ashley Mills currently serves as the PTO president at White Plains.
Principal DeAnne Danley and assistant principal Nicole Hazelwood praised Mills for her enthusiasm and positive attitude.
“She is very articulate, proactive, and always puts the best interests of students first. She plans and sets deadlines and is very time-on-task oriented,” said Hazelwood.
