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Charlie Pond honored as CCISD Citizen of the Year
  
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By MARY ALYS CHERRY
Few things in life are more valuable to a human being than an education. One may lose his family and all his riches but no one can ever take his education away.
Charlie Pond knows that and he wants the Clear Creek School District to be the best in the country. He thinks it is already, but just in case there’s any doubt, he’s there to help push it to the top.
Friday, he was named CCISD’s Citizen of the Year at the Clear Creek Education Foundation’s Building Future Leaders Luncheon.
“Charlie lives and breathes CCISD,” Board of Trustees President Stuart Stromeyer told the luncheon crowd. “He has centered his life on what is happening in our district and he is out there promoting our district both in written communications and personal visits with community leaders.”
Pond spends many hours serving on various district committees such as the boundary committees, long-term planning committees and bond committees.
“Charlie Pond would give the shirt off his back for CCISD,” Stromeyer said.
The luncheon, held at the Hilton and chaired by Jane Sweeney, replaced the Reach for the Stars Gala the education foundation puts on each year to honor outstanding CCISD alumni. That was postponed until next year.
Each year the foundation raises funds for education projects not covered in school district budgets with various Bay Area businesses and many of the area schools chipping in.
Many of the projects are to motivate students.
Space Center Intermediate teacher Clay Barnett likes to bring history alive, so he took his students on “An Electronic Visit to Colonial Williamsburg” while Teresa St. John offered “The Ultimate Hands On Visual Chemistry Experiment” for her Clear Springs High students.
PBK Architects and Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott were both $15,000 sponsors, while Lexus of Clear Lake and the SHW Group were $10,000 sponsors, to name a few.
Nearly two dozen schools prepared themed baskets up for bid in the silent auction.
Bay Elementary prepared one entitled “Coffee Break” while League City Elementary chose “Chocolate Shavings,” Creekside Intermediate offered one containing hair products and Clear Creek High’s basket was filled with graduation items.
CCISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith used the occasion to update the crowd of educators and community leaders on the state of the district after Hurricane Ike, telling how school officials spend hours and hours helping raise the bar in education.
“It’s been a long road, but we’re well on the way back,” he said of the nearly $20 million in damages the local schools sustained.
“We saw the very, very best of our students, teachers and parents — many without homes — still helping us pick up the pieces.” About 475 students from other school districts enrolled here after losing their homes, he said.
CCEF President Olive Murphy Riker announced that the foundation was presenting $26,000 to teachers who lost personal education items during the hurricane — things they had bought with their own money — and proceeded to present checks to the surprised educators.
The keynote speaker was Gallery Furniture owner Jim McIngvale, who traced the career of the late Dr. Michael DeBakey and how education had such an impact on his career. “His teachers had an impact on the whole world (through DeBakey’s work),” he said.
“The kids of CCISD are our future and I believe in investing in them.
“We have a massive brain drain in this country. Students cannot compete with others around the world,” he told the crowd, urging all “to make education a priority” to correct this so the United States will continue to be the greatest country in the world.
Charlie Pond knows that and he wants the Clear Creek School District to be the best in the country. He thinks it is already, but just in case there’s any doubt, he’s there to help push it to the top.
Friday, he was named CCISD’s Citizen of the Year at the Clear Creek Education Foundation’s Building Future Leaders Luncheon.
“Charlie lives and breathes CCISD,” Board of Trustees President Stuart Stromeyer told the luncheon crowd. “He has centered his life on what is happening in our district and he is out there promoting our district both in written communications and personal visits with community leaders.”
Pond spends many hours serving on various district committees such as the boundary committees, long-term planning committees and bond committees.
“Charlie Pond would give the shirt off his back for CCISD,” Stromeyer said.
The luncheon, held at the Hilton and chaired by Jane Sweeney, replaced the Reach for the Stars Gala the education foundation puts on each year to honor outstanding CCISD alumni. That was postponed until next year.
Each year the foundation raises funds for education projects not covered in school district budgets with various Bay Area businesses and many of the area schools chipping in.
Many of the projects are to motivate students.
Space Center Intermediate teacher Clay Barnett likes to bring history alive, so he took his students on “An Electronic Visit to Colonial Williamsburg” while Teresa St. John offered “The Ultimate Hands On Visual Chemistry Experiment” for her Clear Springs High students.
PBK Architects and Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott were both $15,000 sponsors, while Lexus of Clear Lake and the SHW Group were $10,000 sponsors, to name a few.
Nearly two dozen schools prepared themed baskets up for bid in the silent auction.
Bay Elementary prepared one entitled “Coffee Break” while League City Elementary chose “Chocolate Shavings,” Creekside Intermediate offered one containing hair products and Clear Creek High’s basket was filled with graduation items.
CCISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith used the occasion to update the crowd of educators and community leaders on the state of the district after Hurricane Ike, telling how school officials spend hours and hours helping raise the bar in education.
“It’s been a long road, but we’re well on the way back,” he said of the nearly $20 million in damages the local schools sustained.
“We saw the very, very best of our students, teachers and parents — many without homes — still helping us pick up the pieces.” About 475 students from other school districts enrolled here after losing their homes, he said.
CCEF President Olive Murphy Riker announced that the foundation was presenting $26,000 to teachers who lost personal education items during the hurricane — things they had bought with their own money — and proceeded to present checks to the surprised educators.
The keynote speaker was Gallery Furniture owner Jim McIngvale, who traced the career of the late Dr. Michael DeBakey and how education had such an impact on his career. “His teachers had an impact on the whole world (through DeBakey’s work),” he said.
“The kids of CCISD are our future and I believe in investing in them.
“We have a massive brain drain in this country. Students cannot compete with others around the world,” he told the crowd, urging all “to make education a priority” to correct this so the United States will continue to be the greatest country in the world.
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