News Releases
 September Employee of the Month:
Kay Brown, Secretary, Winston Campus–Junior High
Kay Brown is seen by her colleagues as one of the most dedicated employees of the school and the district. Now in her twentieth year at Winston Campus-Junior High—first as a clerical assistant and then as secretary—Kay’s extensive experience and her calm manner help keep the school’s busy office running smoothly. Because the office serves both the junior high (with more than 700 students) and the elementary school (with approximately 475 students), there is always a lot of activity, which Kay thinks is fun. Because she’s so busy, she says, the day passes quickly.
“Kay possesses the patience of a saint,” her nominator said. “She treats visitors and students’ families like they’re close friends. She juggles multiple tasks with ease and spends hours finding information and solutions to problems that would have long been abandoned by virtually everyone else.” Kay says she enjoys her work environment because of the dedication of her co-workers. “It’s nice to see how hard everyone works for the kids,” she says.
Kay is a native of Freeport, Illinois, where her 93-year-old mother still lives. She attended high school in Freeport and earned an associate’s degree from Rockford Business School. She worked for a time at Wurlitzer in DeKalb, then stayed home for several years to raise her seven children, five daughters and two sons. When her youngest child started high school, Kay began working part-time. She got a call from a woman she knew, Judy Kraeger, then the Winston Campus secretary. Judy asked Kay to consider the clerical assistant’s position. “She said, ‘You’ve got to come over here and help me out,’” Kay recalls. “The clerical assistant had unexpectedly quit, and Judy was going crazy.” Kay’s been there ever since, and Judy, now retired, is a Senior Exchange employee who still helps out in the school office.
Kay lived in Palatine for more than 20 years, just across from Jane Addams School. Three years ago, she moved to Dundee, where several of her children and many of her 20 grandchildren, ranging in age from 8 months to 21 years, live. She especially loves spending time with her family. “It’s fun when we all get together,” she says. Kay enjoys reading, especially mysteries; traveling in the U.S.; and doing volunteer work for her church.
“Kay is very highly regarded by everyone in the District 15 community,” her nominator observed. “She is a loving mother and grandmother who finds time for everyone in both her personal world and her work world.”
Kay will be recognized at the September 13, 2006, Board of Education meeting, to be held at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, at 7 p.m.
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