News Releases
 February Employee of the Month:
Carolyn Alexander, School Lunch Coordinator, Lake Louise School
A positive attitude and a ready smile are just two of the attributes that make Carolyn Alexander “a pleasure to have in the Food Services Department,” according to her nominators. As school lunch coordinator at Lake Louise, Carolyn is also a valued member of the Lake Louise community.
“She is very organized and calm under pressure and makes her job appear quite easy—which it isn’t!” her nominators said. “She truly treats her students as customers and has established outstanding rapport with building staff. She regularly contributes suggestions to her peers in an effort to make everyone’s job easier. She is always willing to share ideas that work in her location as she tries to improve the services we offer our students.”
Carolyn joined the district’s Food Services department six years ago at the suggestion of a friend. Previously, she had been staying at home with her two children, Brent, now 22, and Courtney, now 15. Because Courtney was still very young, the limited hours the job required made it an appealing choice, and she thought it sounded like fun, Carolyn remembers. She spent one year at Frank C. Whiteley School, and she’s now in her fifth year at Lake Louise.
“I love it!” she said of her job. “I get to know the children and watch them grow up.” To acquaint herself with Lake Louise students and their families, Carolyn volunteers at a variety of school functions, including the back-to-school picnic, Dr. Seuss reading night, bingo night, and more.
Palatine has been home to Carolyn since her family moved here when she was in junior high. She attended junior high at Stuart R. Paddock School and then attended Palatine High School. She earned her B.S. degree in elementary education from Aurora College. She and her husband Vern, a chemical engineer, lived overseas for five years in Turkey, South Africa, Venezuela, and Montreal, but they returned to Palatine, buying their home from Vern’s parents when they retired to Florida. While their children were growing up, Carolyn was “a full-time volunteer,” she says.
In her leisure time, Carolyn enjoys reading and sewing, and she and her husband enjoy antiquing, a hobby to which their daughter introduced them. They are especially interested in antique furniture and knick-knacks, and Carolyn admits to a particular fondness for cherubs. The Alexander family also includes two Labrador retrievers, a cat, a ferret, a salt water aquarium, and pond fish.
Carolyn will be recognized at the February 9, 2005, Board of Education meeting, to be held at Thomas Jefferson School, at 7 p.m.
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