The Heart of Center Award recognizes a staff member who goes above and beyond to make a positive difference for students, colleagues, families, and the community. The September 2025 Heart of Center recipients are Reggie Taylor, District Maintenance, and Shoni Williams, First Grade Teacher at Center Elementary. Taylor and Williams were awarded at the September 22, 2025 Board of Education meeting.
Taylor was nominated by his colleague Jack Cunningham lll. Cunningham shared "Reggie always has a smile on his face and a great attitude. He has worked hard to learn a new process of cleaning and mowing the grounds to make everything look better and brighter for the students at Center 58. He shows integrity at every turn by doing things that need done, like picking up trash or cleaning the stadium without needing direction. With his positive attitude and interaction with students and staff, he really shows the motto, Dream Big, Excel Always, Center Proud."
Williams was nominated by her colleague Sequoia Beauchamp. Beauchamp said, "Shoni is always going out of her way to support the Center community no matter what is going on in her own life. She is quick to introduce herself to new staff members and offer to help them in any way. She will lend a listening ear when someone needs to vent, but she ALWAYS follows up by asking how we’re going to solve the problem. If you don’t know at that moment, SHE WILL be following up the next day. Every day, she strives to make Center Elementary a better place for staff, students, and families. She aims to bring others along with her in this work. She continuously encourages others to make a positive change or to “put their voice in the room that matters” when they have a complaint or thought that is bigger than she can help solve."
Center School District employees can nominate a colleague for the Heart of Center award through the form online.