With one son in eighth grade and the other now in high school, Amy Musary has seen Waldon Middle School up close.
As treasurer of Waldon’s Parent Teacher Organization, she has gotten an opportunity to make improvements to the system first hand.
The things she has done have not gone unnoticed, and in March she was honored as the Regional Middle School Parent of the Year by the Michigan Association of Middle School Educators (MAMSE).
‘This award is not for me,? Musary said. ‘There’s a whole group of us responsible for making these things happen (at Waldon).?
‘It’s all for the students,? she added. ‘And the staff at Waldon is just terrific.?
MAMSE gave out the award a their 36th annual event, held over two days at Petoskey Middle School.
The event was held in Lake Orion a year ago.
Musary won the award for Region Seven. There are 13 regions in the state, though not every region had a winner in every category.
One of the biggest things Musary has helped accomplish is doing all of the Waldon’s fundraising at the beginning of the year.
‘We’ve worked really hard to try to do this,? she said, noting that parents appreciate getting the money issue taken care of up front, and not having to do all fundraisers throughout the entire school year.
‘We were the first to do this in the area, but now all three middle schools are doing it,? Musary said.
This process definitely makes the budgeting process easier, according to Musary, and the PTO knows exactly how much money they have to work with.
‘With all of the budget cutting, what we do is even more important,? she said, noting that as PTO treasurer she focuses mostly on doing extra-curricular activities.
These activities range from bringing in authors to helping the new rock climbing wall get built.
‘I just enjoy doing what I do for the school,? she said. ‘This is all very humbling.?
Musary works for General Motors in market research, and said it was the staff at Waldon, including principal Heidi Kast and her fellow parent volunteers, that deserved this award.
‘My job is easy,? she said. ‘I just pay the bills and discuss what we want to do next.?
Musary was honored along with Waldon computer applications teacher Donna deWitt-Schnell, who won region seven’s Teacher of the Year honors. She was also recognized earlier this year as Lake Orion’s Middle School Teacher of the Year.
‘It was pretty impressive having both of us be there from Waldon,? Musary said.
Jon Gray and Pam Kraft, also from Waldon, attended the MAMSE event along with deWitt-Schnell and Musary, as guest speakers
‘The purpose was to get the teachers fired up about new ideas,? deWitt-Schnell said, noting that over 300 middle school educators attended the event.
‘It’s the goodie bag of the year for middle school teachers,? she added.