WELL DESERVED RECOGNITIONS
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The ARTS GROUP OF UNION AVENUE (AGUA) recently received the Heart for Art Award from the Missouri Art Education Association (MAEA). AGUA was nominated for the award by Ron Jennings, former arts educator at Soldan International Studies High School.
“When I first became a teacher in 2002, it was Carla Mash Duncan who came across from Union Avenue to say, ‘Hey, we can really help you with art and stuff like that,’ and they provided us a space to exhibit our student art, and not only my school at Soldan International High Studies but also other organizations within the St. Louis area,” Jennings said in his presentation of the award to Carla Duncan, representing AGUA at the awards ceremony. Later in the evening, Ron Jennings was awarded the Missouri TEACHER of the YEAR Award from MAEA for his contributions to Soldan as well as to the MAEA organization.
The award is on display in the Gretchen Brigham Gallery. Congratulations to all the members of AGUA for this well-deserved recognition! AGUA members are: Carla Duncan, Jennifer Darnell, Karen Tye, JoAnne Leach, Roni Hildreth, Gary Brandenburger, Rose Fischer, Dianne Benjamin, Chuck Shannon, Jeanne Heitman, Kathy Davis, Naomi Pope, and Daniel Leach. Please let them all know how much we appreciate the arts and educational ministry of AGUA.
Neil McNeill received both the Man of the Year Award and the Hall of Fame Award at the Annual Conference of the Missouri Pest Management Association (MOPMA) in St. Louis on December 14, 2021. The Dr. Wilbur Enns Man/Woman of the Year Award is given to an individual who has been outstanding in their contributions of time, talent, and innovation, resulting in positive results toward the betterment of the Association and its membership. The Hall of Fame Award is presented in recognition of a lifetime of service to the industry, and is an honor bestowed by industry management peers. Neil is the first honoree to receive both awards.
Neil retired in July 2022 after more than 40 years in the industry. In June 1980 he began with Dow Chemical USA as a Sales Specialist in Eastern Missouri for Agricultural Products. In 1989 he served as Senior Sales Specialist with DowElanco (Dow Chemical and Eli Lilly Merger), then Corteva Agrisciences (Dow Chemical and DuPont Merger) working with Pest Control Products from Missouri to Iowa, and parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. As of August 2021 he is producing quality locker beef at TryN2 Farm.
Cheryl was able to keep the awards a secret from Neil, and he was surprised by the whole family at the awards presentation. One of his greatest accomplishments is keeping a 117-year-old building bug free, and for that and everything else that he manages to do in service to others we are sincerely grateful!