San Marino Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss called it “the Heisman Trophy” of volunteer awards just seconds before he handed the Golden Apple to Dr. Jennifer Chen.
Drs. Cherniss and Chen were on hand Wednesday morning at Santa Anita Golf Course in Arcadia for the annual honoring of “our valuable volunteers,” in the introductory words of David Vannasdall, Superintendent of Schools for the Arcadia Unified School District. “The tireless work they do. Their contributions are what make our districts great.”
The Golden Apple Award is sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators, or ACSA, and Wednesday’s ceremony was hosted by the Northwest San Gabriel Valley Administrators Association, which encompasses ten local school districts.
Dr. Chen, mother of three SMHS grads, is the current PTA Council president and has been involved in such a multitude of volunteer positions that Dr. Cherniss almost exceeded his unlimited segment naming them all.
“The golf tournament, Grad Night, Robotics, VAPA…” and the list went on and on.
“Jennifer is a big-picture thinker,” Dr. Cherniss said. “We all make choices as to how we spend our time. We have work, family. Then there is that special time that some call ‘free time.’ We are very fortunate that Jennifer has chosen the San Marino Unified School District over the years with that free time.”
“Congratulations, Jennifer,” Dr. Cherniss concluded. “You’ve won the Heisman.”
