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Business Meeting

New KSBA leadership ushered in

Kentucky School Advocate

March 2017

Staff report

The KSBA Annual Conference is the venue for the association board’s biennial leadership change, and at the Saturday, Feb. 25, business meeting, Simpson County board member David Webster moved up from president elect to succeed Hancock County board member Allan Kennedy as president.

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Webster, a business owner, had served as a director-at-large on KSBA’s board before serving his two years as president elect. He has been a member of the Simpson County school board for a decade and currently serves as its chairman. Webster, a graduate of Warren Central High School, is active in his church and is a member of the Franklin-Simpson Chamber of Commerce. He gave his first remarks as KSBA’s president during the conference’s Sunday Brunch Session.

Charles “Ronnie” Holmes assumed the office of president elect by affirmation of the membership attending the business session. Holmes chairs the Graves County school board, which he has served for more than 30 years. He previously was a regional chairperson on KSBA’s board, representing the First Region. Holmes is a building contractor who attended Murray State University and, like Webster, is active in his church. He is a former president of the Graves County Riding Club and former Mid-Continent College trustee.

The business meeting also saw the ratification of four local school board members to director-at-large positions on the KSBA board. They, along with Holmes, had been recommended by a nominating committee. They are:

Russellville Independent board member Davonna Page, who had been serving as a regional chairperson on KSBA’s board, representing the Third Region. Page is a paralegal who holds two associate degrees from Western Kentucky University. She has been a Russellville board member since 2003. She has served on various committees at her church and been church clerk. Page has presented at both KSBA and NSBA annual conferences.

Bill Robertson, vice chairman of the Fulton Independent school board and a retired industrial arts teacher and painting contractor. He has a total of 14 years of service on his local board. Robertson holds a bachelor’s degree from Murray State College and has been active in the Boy Scouts, local chamber of commerce and Rotary Club, serving in leadership positions with all three. His service also includes 13 years on the Fulton Electric System Board and 13 years as a Fulton city commissioner, including four years as mayor pro-tem.

Diane Berry, who previously worked 15 years in the Nelson County school district and was active in the PTA/PTO before being elected to the Nelson County school board in 2012. She is a former past regional president of the Kentucky Association of Professional Office Personnel and attended Murray State University. She currently owns a business in Nelson County and is active in her church. Berry also is a cheer judge and on the local Relay for Life Committee.

Danville Independent school board member Steve Becker, whose current term on that board began in 2015. Becker had previously served on the Danville board for two terms, from 2001–2008. A former winner of local chamber of commerce Small Business of the Year Award and Most Community Involved Business, Becker is retired, but works in investment properties. He attended University of Kentucky and Bellarmine University. He is a director in two local scholarship programs and is active in his church and Boy Scouts. He also co-authored a weekly newspaper column called Parent to Parent.

Three other local school board members were attending their first annual conference as members of the KSBA Board of Directors. The three were appointed in late 2016 by Kennedy to fill vacancies. They are:

Russell County board member Sheila Wicker. Wicker is a retired teacher, with 33 years in the classroom. She holds a bachelor’s degree and Rank I certification from Eastern Kentucky University and was a district and local president for the Kentucky Education Association. Wicker served on the state education department’s Accountability Committee and on the board of KSBA’s Unemployment Program. Wicker also served a term on the Russell Springs City Council.

East Bernstadt Independent board member Gene Allen. Allen, the longest-serving school board member in Kentucky, at 50 years, is a retired salesman for Kern’s Bakery who attended Sue Bennett College and is active in his church. He served on KSBA’s board previously – twice – as a regional chairperson and has been chairing his own board since 1979.

Elizabethtown Independent board member Tony Kuklinski. Kuklinski, a school board member since 2008, was appointed a regional chairperson, representing the Fourth Region. He is a federal police officer with the U.S. Treasury Department and attended Eastern Kentucky University. Kuklinski is a member of two Fraternal Order of Police lodges, having served as treasurer and president of one of them. He is a lifetime member of the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans.