![\"IMG_4290](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/IMG_4290-Brandi-front-desk.jpg\")
<\/a> After morning conversation with the main office team of Angie Gallihugh,\u00a0Maria Bair and Kim Melby,\u00a0Fiore is off to the mailroom \u2013 and it is clear that she is no stranger to the staff.<\/p>\n\u201cHi, Brandi,\u201d says a teacher checking her mail before going to class.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, Brandi,\u201d says another staff member stopping by.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Brandi! How are you,\u201d asks an assistant bringing in envelopes for delivery.<\/p>\n
Fiore returns each greeting with one of her own \u2013 a smile, a high five or, in some cases, a hug.<\/p>\n
\u201cRinehart,\u201d Fiore exclaims when she sees the school\u2019s assistant principal in the hallway. Fiore hugs Heidi Rinehart and explains that she is in charge of keeping Rinehart away from candy as part of preparations for the administrator\u2019s upcoming wedding.<\/p>\n
Once Fiore\u2019s work is completed in the mailroom, she returns to Gallihugh\u2019s desk to find out what else she can do to help the team. It is this willingness to lend a hand to anyone and with any task that earned Fiore the recognition of Birdneck\u2019s Volunteer of the Year.<\/p>\n
Birdneck principal Irv Beard is appreciative of how Fiore\u2019s efforts help to reduce the workload of the office staff and her \u201ceager willingness to lend a hand when the opportunity arises.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe takes great pride in the work and support she provides,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Gallihugh and her office colleagues seem to appreciate the laughter and stories Brandi brings each day even more than her help with daily tasks.\u00a0\u201cShe keeps us laughing with her stories from her large extended family,\u201d says Gallihugh.<\/p>\n Fiore\u2019s aunt,\u00a0Virginia Sutton,\u00a0works at Birdneck and says that Fiore\u2019s three years of volunteering at the school have changed her niece. \u201cShe\u2019s more open and outgoing, and people enjoy her,\u201d says Sutton, \u201cand she\u2019s really good with the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n The school\u2019s Volunteers in Education (VIE) coordinator Patricia Smith echoes Sutton\u2019s thoughts.\u00a0\u201cMrs.\u00a0Fiore\u00a0is caring and supportive to everyone in our building and is a true joy to be around. We are honored to have her as our Volunteer of the Year,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n With Fiore busy shredding documents around the corner with a smile on her face, Gallihugh confides, \u201cShe is very special to us. We love her.\u201d<\/p>\n To find ways you can get involved, visit the division\u2019s Get Connected page at <\/em>vbschools.com\/getconnected<\/a> and find volunteer opportunities available in VBCPS schools. For more information about the <\/em>Volunteers in Education<\/a> program as a whole, visit the page to learn more about the service of VBCPS volunteers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every Monday through Thursday one of Brandi Fiore\u2019s family members brings her to Birdneck Elementary School to volunteer, and she doesn\u2019t waste any time getting to work. After morning conversation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"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],"tags":[120,110],"class_list":["post-3578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections","tag-birdneck-elementary","tag-volunteers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3583,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578\/revisions\/3583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>\u201cShe greets parents and visitors and walks them to classrooms, the cafeteria, clinic and library,\u201d Gallihugh says, beginning a long list of ways Fiore assists. \u201cShe helps our special education teachers walk students to classrooms and the buses. In the office, Brandi does shredding, sorts the U.S. and interoffice mail and puts it into the mailboxes. She deliver packages. She makes copies for office staff and teachers. She will answer the phone and gladly takes on special projects.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>