{"id":15253,"date":"2026-05-26T14:44:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=15253"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:44:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:44:28","slug":"citywide-pta-honors-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/citywide-pta-honors-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Citywide PTA honors volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Cindy Butler Focke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The annual Virginia Beach Council of PTAs “Volunteer of the Year” dinner and awards ceremony was held May 20 at Princess Anne Middle School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Virginia Beach Council of PTAs and the VBCPS department of Family and Community Engagement (FACE) hosted the 2025-26 annual PTA \u201cVolunteer of the Year\u201d dinner and awards program May 20 at Princess Anne Middle School.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Dr. Donald E. Robertson Jr. welcomed guests.<\/p>\n

Volunteers are critically important to success in our schools, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour efforts really matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council President Tara Campbell thanked attendees for the countless hours devoted to their schools and PTA\/PTSAs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout all your dedication and hard work, we would not be here this evening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Each beach public school selects a \u201cVolunteer of the Year.\u201d The Virginia Beach Council of PTAs then chooses a citywide primary and secondary \u201cVolunteer of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s recipients are Jessica Gooden of Christopher Farms Elementary and Natalie Biggie of Virginia Beach Middle.<\/p>\n

FACE Director Dr. Admon Alexander presented Gary Cason with a new citywide award designed to encourage more male volunteerism in schools.<\/p>\n

Certificates and plaques were also awarded for membership achievements and exemplary service.<\/p>\n

Citywide PTA Primary \u201cVolunteer of the Year,\u201d Jessica Gooden<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Jessica Gooden of Christopher Farms Elementary was named the citywide PTA primary “Volunteer of the Year.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gooden\u2019s children, fourth grader Austin and third grader Lillian, attend Christopher Farms. She volunteers at most PTA events, helps decorate the school for holidays and performs countless behind-the-scenes tasks.<\/p>\n

She is a regular volunteer during lunchtime in the cafeteria and has helped revitalize the school\u2019s winter dance, co-chaired teacher appreciation initiatives and led after-school activities, including \u201cCookies with Santa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The volunteer is passionate about making sure events are inclusive for children with special needs. In fact, she came up with ideas to assure every child would feel comfortable while attending.<\/p>\n

Campbell applauded Gooden for her help fostering a \u201cschool environment where students, families and staff feel supported, valued and empowered to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gooden said she enjoys connecting with students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want every child to feel accepted, included and proud of who they are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Citywide PTA Secondary \u201cVolunteer of the Year,\u201d Natalie Biggie<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Virginia Beach Middle PTA president Natalie Biggie was named the citywide PTA secondary “Volunteer of the Year.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biggie has served as PTA president for the past two years at Virginia Beach Middle, where her daughter Evie is currently an eighth grader.<\/p>\n

She has planned numerous fundraisers, initiated ideas for student recognition, such as candygrams, and started an informative newsletter for families.<\/p>\n

In addition to organizing school dances, Biggie has spearheaded donations for teacher supplies, faculty breakfasts and lunches and more.<\/p>\n

Cambell said Biggie\u2019s \u201cdedication, creativity and selfless willingness to help wherever needed\u201d has made a huge impact on the entire school.<\/p>\n

Biggie said she volunteered to be engaged in her daughter\u2019s education and contribute to the \u201cspirit, activities and events that enrich our school\u2019s culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMale Engagement Volunteer of the Year,\u201d Gary Cason<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gary Cason received the first citywide “Male Engagement Volunteer of the Year” by the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs and the VBCPS department of Family and Community Engagement May 20 at Princess Anne Middle School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Retired 35-year VBCPS educator Gary Cason received the first citywide \u201cMale Engagement Volunteer of the Year\u201d award for mentoring young men in several schools.<\/p>\n

He was also a coach and led the Princess Anne High \u00a0basketball team to a state championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, I had mentors and coaches,\u201d Cason said.<\/p>\n

He founded the nonprofit organization \u201cCoaching Skills for Life\u201d to help guide students in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Eugene Newman, Parkway Elementary\u2019s 2025-26 \u201cVolunteer of the Year,\u201d helps Cason mentor approximately 15 fourth and fifth grade boys at the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so appreciative of my guy Coach Cason for bringing me onto the mentor team,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n

The group meets regularly and participates together in community engagement activities.<\/p>\n

Cason also mentors at Renaissance Academy, Birdneck Elementary, and Corporate Landing and Independence middle schools.<\/p>\n

Renaissance Academy principal Anthony Smith said achievement scores have risen and behavior issues have decreased, thanks to Cason\u2019s mentoring group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s helped change the narrative at my school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mentor Gary Cason received the first award for male volunteerism in VBCPS during the May 20 annual Virginia Beach Council of PTAs “Volunteer of the Year” awards dinner and ceremony.
From left, Parkway Elementary’s “Volunteer of the Year” Eugene Newman, Cason, Renaissance Academy principal Anthony Smith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cindy Butler Focke The Virginia Beach Council of PTAs and the VBCPS department of Family and Community Engagement (FACE) hosted the 2025-26 annual PTA \u201cVolunteer of the Year\u201d dinner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-connections","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15253"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15263,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253\/revisions\/15263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}