CHESTERFIELD – Acknowledged as a great motivator and team player, Hopkins Elementary cafeteria manager LaNette Parham has been selected the School Nutrition Association’s 2017-18 State Manager of the Year.
The application, submitted by Chesterfield County Public Schools’ Food and Nutrition Services team, recognized Parham’s efforts to increase breakfast participation, which is up 240 percent since the school implemented mobile kiosks to provide breakfast options to students. Parham was also recognized for her efforts to hold monthly fresh fruit and vegetable tastings and for implementing the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.
“Mrs. Parham is a great example of customer service and of someone who puts the needs of children first,” said school board chair John Erbach, whose Dale District includes Hopkins Elementary. “She’s always open to piloting new programs and trying new things, exposing students to options they might not otherwise have encountered. If a new program starts out rough, she finds a way to make it work.”
The state application also noted that Parham interacts with all the pupils at her school and can call most them by name. “She is very welcoming to the students when they come to breakfast and lunch and works with the students to make good choices,” the state nomination form said. “When a student is having a bad day, she reaches out to the student to help to see what she can do to help them.”
“Mrs. Parham is a great representative of Team Chesterfield,” superintendent James Lane said. “She is active at the state level, sharing her successes at Hopkins Elementary while discovering ways to enhance service at her own school. Our students and staff members at Hopkins benefit from Mrs. Parham’s willingness to go above and beyond each day.”
