Prize spotlights contributions to students, schools, community
“School success, it’s at all levels, from the maintenance all the way up to superintendent.”
— Gil Salinas
The coveted Lamar Awards honoring dedication to students, schools and the community went to three Boerne Independent School District employees this week.
Kendall Masonic Lodge No. 897 on Monday named the recipients as Gil Salinas, Boerne ISD’s grounds maintenance supervisor; Kari McHone, a second grade teacher at Curington Elementary School; and Michael Gillette, a Champion High School Advanced Placement history teacher and swim and water polo coach.
The awards offered through the Grand Lodge of Texas spotlight exemplary leadership and dedication to public school students, officials said.
The prize is named after Mirabeau B. Lamar, a Freemason and Texas’ second governor who is also known as the father of public education in the state.
He established the first endowment for public education in the 1800s.
Awards include a framed certificate, a decorative medal and a stipend for each recipient.
Former Boerne ISD Superintendent Thomas Price, who was approached by the Masons to suggest three awardees, said the recipients stood out for their service.
Usually the award goes to only one person, but Price made a financial contribution for all three to be recognized.
McHone, a 26-year teaching veteran, has been with Curington more than two decades.
“As far as accomplishments are concerned, when that ‘light bulb’ goes on, when kids get it and get excited about learning and become passionate about learning, it’s all worth it,” McHone said.
McHone and many family members have answered the call to be educators. Her daughter is a kindergarten instructor at Fabra Elementary School, and her husband is a teacher and boys’ basketball coach at Boerne High School.
Gillette has been in education for more than 30 years and today teaches upper-level history and social studies at Champion High School while also coaching swimming and water polo.
“What I try to do, as much as I can for our kids, is connect the past to the present,” Gillette said. “The more they know about the past, the more the present makes sense.”
In just the past few years, Gillette earned his master’s degree and is a James Madison Fellow at Ashland University. His wife, Sammi, is the principal at Cibolo Creek Elementary School.
Salinas, Price said, is “a humble, dedicated soul who understands his role and his staff’s role is keeping the students and staff in a safe and comfortable environment where everyone can succeed.”
During the past eight years, Salinas has moved from an employee in the BISD maintenance department to the department’s director.
Salinas joined Boerne ISD 12 years ago after working at the Northside Independent School District for 20 years.
Teaching runs deep among his family. His wife taught at Northside ISD for 38 years, his daughter is a teacher at Curington Elementary for the past five years, and his son is a coach in the East Central Independent School District.
“I take great pride in what I do, knowing that what I do affects a lot of kids,” he said. “School success, it’s at all levels, from the maintenance all the way up to superintendent. I always tell my team, it’s not ‘I,’ it’s ‘we.’”
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