CIS says goodbye to longtime board members
Carol Crouse (left) and Myra Thompson (right) each served on the CIS Board of Directors for 9 years. Both women plan to remain supportive of CIS and its activities.
After nearly 20 years of combined volunteer service to an agency with a mission close to their hearts, Carol Crouse and Myra Thompson say goodbye to Communities In Schools of Lexington/Davidson County.
Crouse and Thompson were originally recruited to join the CIS board of directors by the agency’s previous executive director, Donna Black. Both women say they were immediately drawn to the idea of bringing caring adults into the lives of children who needed role models.
“I was eager to serve” said Thompson, who currently teaches GED courses at Davidson County Community College. “Over time I realized that CIS actually could truly make a sustainable, positive and powerful difference in a young person’s life. Almost 10 years later, it is incredible and thrilling that community awareness and funding of CIS has spread to help and empower so many more students from additional schools in Lexington and Davidson County.”
Like Thompson, Crouse was introduced to CIS by Black.
“The tenets of the CIS program are very akin to my belief that caring adults truly make a difference in the success of students who lack a role model,” said Crouse, who serves as chairwoman for the Davidson County School board. “Donna showed me the statistics of the program’s success and I was hooked. I have stayed with CIS because it has been everything promised and more. It has been my honor to serve alongside future leaders of this city and county.”
For Thompson, the CIS focus on mentoring hits close to home.
“It’s amazing what one small compliment from a caring adult can mean to a young person who needs a word of encouragement. In second grade at Robbins Elementary School my teacher, Miss Eleanor Gray, once mentioned to me how well I could draw; something I had never thought about. My mother was hospitalized for most of that school year and, looking back, I guess I needed some special attention,” she said.
“I internalized Miss Gray’s confidence in me and over the years I continued to draw. Today my painting brings me great pleasure but I wonder if I would have continued … without a kind word from my unofficial mentor so long ago.”
Though she’s leaving the board, Crouse hopes to see CIS continue to grow, attracting more mentors and spreading the simple power of friendship.
“There is no more worthy avocation than mentoring a child who needs someone to love and care for them unconditionally,” Crouse said. “Keeping one student from dropping out is proof enough that there is value in the programs (CIS) provides all over the county.”