Youth Volunteer – Alexis Wilson – Port St. Lucie High School
Alexis enjoys giving back to people in the form of volunteering. She accumulated approximately 131 community service hours within her high school JROTC program. Her volunteer activities include parking details at football games, providing daycare services, and assisting at the Botanical Gardens. She also helps at Southport Middle with school events. Furthermore, she has been volunteering at her church since she was 12 years old. She started out by helping in the Children’s Ministry teaching worship dances to the young children and has grown to train in a leadership role as a Sunday morning teacher for the 3-5 year olds. Alexis has also given a lot of her free time to her youth group. She helped remodel the student center at her church and runs a camera for Sunday morning services. She has even been on 3 mission trips through her Church helping orphanages in Honduras and Bolivia.
Port St. Lucie High School is ecstatic that Alexis Wilson is being recognized as St. Lucie Public Schools Youth Volunteer of the Year.
Adult Volunteer – John Neilson – Ft. Pierce Central High School
John Neilson started as a student at Fort Pierce Central in 1979 where he was a member of the marching band. He graduated from Central in 1983. His daughter started attending Ft. Pierce Central in 2016 and he noticed there was little parent participation, so he jumped right in and got involved helping out wherever he was needed to support the marching band. He loaded the ice water coolers and made sure the students got their instruments ready and loaded on the truck. He assisted with the pregame setup of podiums and would repair instruments if he could. He built many items to help the band and served as a coach helping students learn the marching steps.
Ft. Pierce Central is extremely grateful for his ongoing support of their band program and thrilled that he is being recognized as St. Lucie Public Schools Adult Volunteer of the Year.
Senior Volunteer – Joy Custis – Morningside Elementary
Mrs. Custis had been involved with education for many years. She started out as a fourth-grade teacher at Ft. Pierce Elementary. Later she returned to FAU for a master’s in early childhood development. She continued to serve the county as a teacher at Lakewood Park, Morningside, and finally White City Elementary until her retirement in 2007. For the past five years, Mrs. Custis has been a volunteer at Morningside Elementary. She has volunteered across Morningside Elementary in the Media Center and in Kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. She helps out wherever she is needed and is always ready to take on a new challenge.
Mrs. Curtis states, “Watching children grow and learn and interacting with them brings me joy. I know how much time teachers give beyond their paid days to do the extras that make learning fascinating and exciting. I had some wonderful volunteers when I was a teacher and I wanted to give back to others. I think I get more than I give most days because of the staff, teachers, and children I serve. I feel so honored. Thank you to all who had a hand in this recognition.”
Joy is an amazing asset to the Morningside family, and they are so proud that she is being recognized as St. Lucie Public Schools Senior Volunteer of the Year.
