Cannon Air Force Base and the Clovis Municipal Schools received the Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Award in Washington, D.C., July 23, 2019.
A package was submitted to the Military Child Education Collection to nominate Cannon and Clovis for the K-12 category. It outlined the programs in place to promote the growth of Cannon’s military children and the relationships between Cannon and Clovis schools.
“The package I submitted started off as something for all the programs on and off-base and how the community is supporting them,” said Sara Williams, 27th Special Operations Force Support Squadron school liaison. “By the end of it, it became this 10-page package for all the wonderful things the base is doing for the kids. MCEC looked at it, and they thought we were best suited for the reward.”
The award recognizes successful partnerships and projects that ultimately benefit military-connected children. The K-12 award is given annually and may represent a single project in which a military installation and one or more school districts participated, or it may be a summation of the entire program between a military installation and the school districts serving an installation.
“This award confirms what I already knew about Cannon AFB,” said Lt. Col. Michael Stone, 27 SOFSS commander. “We have caring, dedicated people determined on making Cannon AFB a great place to be for both the military member and their families. The bonds between Cannon AFB and the surrounding communities have always been outstanding. This award only furthers that point.”
This partnership between Cannon and Clovis supports over 8,000 students, with 11% of them being our military dependent population. The MCEC recognized Cannon’s efforts, rewarding them with Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Award - Highest Honors. Ten members of Cannon and Clovis went to Washington to receive the award.
“We had community, base, and school representatives with us,” Williams said. “It was my third year to the MCEC awards. It was amazing, having everyone with us. It really solidified that we worked hard and were recognized for what we did.”
The award is a stepping stone for Cannon to continue educational growth with its communities.
“We want to keep the programs growing and we want to add new programs, for things the people want,” Williams said. “I want people to tell me ideas, so we can work together on changing the narrative of Cannon. There’s amazing things going on here, and while the award shines some light on that, I want to keep moving forward.”