The Citizen of the Year Award honors one individual’s outstanding efforts that have contributed in making Cordova a better place to live. Below is the nomination letter for Cordova’s 2019 Citizen of the Year, written by Gayle Groff.
Since moving here in 1974, this person has served Cordovans. Never seeking recognition, she has spent most of her waking hours for over four decades serving the needs of others. Her profession was teaching, and in the 20+ years she taught at Mt. Eccles Elementary School, she taught hundreds of youngsters to read and write. Her passion for teaching struggling learners extended her reach across the country, as she trained teachers from California to Tennessee in a specific method of teaching language arts that helped dyslexics successfully learn. She has scrapbooks of all her classes in her teaching career and often consults them to better reminisce about her students.
In the late 1970s, she took the first EMT class offered in Cordova, continuing on to EMT II, and running ambulance calls for the better part of a decade. She has been active in Cordova Community Baptist Church for over 40 years, serving as clerk, treasurer, and/or deacon most of those years. Her servant spirit shows even more evidently, though, as she goes into the church each week to make sure it has clean floors and bathrooms so others that attend can enjoy a comfortable place to worship. (The mantra she and her husband have passed on is – if you see something that needs to be done, DO IT!)
After retirement from teaching, she has participated on many community boards, including the Library Board, the Cordova Family Resource Center Board, and the board of the 2 X 2 Cancer Walk. Her community spirit is inspiring, and her ability to impact individuals through all of her activities has made Cordova a better place to live. What better way to celebrate her 80th birthday this month than as Cordova Citizen of the Year! Come on up here Kay Groff!
