REM Award Honorees (2009) — Yvonne Batson (Kennebec Montessori School)

KMS encourages parents to get involved in the school by giving 20 hours of volunteer time to KMS per year. Usually we need to remind parents to fulfill their volunteer commitment of 20 hours, but not Yvonne Batson! With Yvonne, we have to ask make sure she doesn’t overdo it! Her volunteer hours are truly impossible to measure.

She has done just about every job there is, from chaperoning on field trips to washing blankets. She has worked tirelessly on the auction committee for the last 6 years and even stepped up to co-chair the committee in 2007, when the chair suddenly became ill.

One of Yvonne’s very special contributions is her classroom presentations on a range of topics, from the Swedish holiday of St. Lucia to sign language. She has also spoken very openly about being an amputee with only one leg. Many adults would find it difficult to speak about such a challenge, but Yvonne does so with style and grace, giving children the gift of seeing challenges as mere bumps in the road, not roadblocks to a productive future.

Not only is Yvonne willing to do just about anything, she always does it with a smile. Nothing is ever impossible for her, and her optimism rubs off on everyone around her. When there is nothing left to do, Yvonne will invent something, like the beautiful yearbook she put together for the school last year.

Yvonne’s enthusiasm, optimism, and resilience have made KMS a much richer place to learn. The school could have no greater supporter than Yvonne Batson.

For more information about the Kennebec Montessori School, please visit its website.