John Pillsbury named Floyd Schools' Volunteer of the Year

Photo: Left to right, John Pillsbury and Pepperell High Principal Phil Ray

Media release: John Pillsbury, a retired executive from Georgia Power and a Rome area community leader, was named the Floyd County Schools Volunteer of the Year at the April meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  Pillsbury was nominated by Phil Ray, principal of Pepperell High School for his many volunteer efforts at the school in Lindale.  Pillsbury has been the volunteer community coach at Pepperell since 2006.  That was the year the Georgia General Assembly created the position of high school "graduation coach" and encouraged community coaches at state public high schools. 

John Pillsbury was the person who volunteered to fill the role of community coach at Pepperell.  "John Pillsbury has proven to be the consummate volunteer with a caring spirit and a compassion for each student he comes in contact with at Pepperell,"  Ray said. "Through his service to students, he embodies the PHS school motto Motivate, Educate, Graduate."  Pillsbury has been involved with the Freshman Academy that was started the same year he arrived at Pepperell,   He not only gives of his personal time in working with PHS 9th graders, but he also encourages his many friends and contacts in the Rome community to get involved in the school as well.  He arranges guest speakers for classrooms - especially the High School 101 class. An important element of High School 101 is preparing the new high school students for job interviews.  Pillsbury elicits members of the community to visit the school to allow students to go through mock interviews to get experience in the process . During this past January, John Pillsbury secured 48 volunteers from businesses and industries in the community to come to Pepperell High School and conduct mock job interviews.

Mr. Pillsbury also works with the PHS Key Club through his membership with the Rome Kiwanis Club.  He has been involved with the club since it was chartered by the Rome Kiwanis Club twelve years ago. Ray stated, "Mr. Pillsbury extended his service to the PHS Key Club on day one of the charter process and his service to this club continues today."  Not only has Mr. Pillsbury been active with Key Club and Freshman Academy, but he is active in Industry Certification for school programs at Peppperell, the CTAE Advisory Committee, and the Advance Placement committee.  Pillsbury is also a key player in a Summer Bridge program that invites PHS at-risk ninth graders to participate in the program before the beginning of their high school experience in July.  The program helps them transition from middle school to high school. Mr. Pillsbury arranges industrial visits for each afternoon for the participants, secures someone to pay for lunch each day, and serves as a mentor for the students. 

In presenting the award to Pillsbury, Ray told the board that he was considered part of the Pepperell faculty "Pepperell High School considers Mr. Pillsbury our secret weapon for networking throughout Rome and Floyd County," he said.  "The contributions John Pillsbury makes to Pepperell High School are endless and the students and staff appreciate his huge heart that he displays when it comes to PHS's "young people" as he refers to them."