CONTACT: Michelle Hudgins   (202) 822-7823

July 5, 2006

Kentucky Custodian Champions Excellence

NEA Education Support Professional of the Year addresses delegates

ORLANDO—Education support professionals take care of schoolchildren every day and make sure they have the tools they need to succeed in and out of the classroom. Nancy Toombs, recipient of the National Education Association's highest honor for professionals in the field of education support, addressed more than 9,000 delegates during the 2006 NEA Representative Assembly in Orlando, Fla. ESPs make up more than 40 percent of the total K-12 education workforce.

Toombs, a custodian supervisor at South Heights Elementary in Henderson, Ky., received the ESP of the Year Award during the Education Support Professionals Annual Meeting in March. In her role as ESP of the Year, Toombs will travel the country speaking and listening to the concerns of the more than 383,000 ESPs who are members of NEA.

In her speech to delegates, Toombs challenged all delegates and Association staff to persist in their work on behalf of the children, despite the obstacles. "I truly believe in our school's mission statement—We succeed … No exceptions … No excuses," Toombs said. "I don't believe in can't and not trying. I believe in doing and thinking differently. Team NEA, I challenge you to be the ones who think differently."

Toombs, no stranger to the national stage, has been an active and dedicated supporter of NEA and the Kentucky Education Association. She served on the NEA Board of Directors as an ESP member-at-large, the Membership Advisory Committee, and she is currently on the NEA Resolutions Committee.  Toombs also is an active volunteer firefighter, a member of her local Democratic Women's Club and Habitat for Humanity. 

The NEA Education Support Professional of the Year Award recognizes the contributions of education support professionals to their schools, communities and their profession. The award is presented to a member of the NEA who demonstrates outstanding accomplishments and reflects the contributions of ESPs to public education. It is presented jointly by the National Education Association and the Gardner Rich Foundation of Chicago, Ill.

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.8 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.