A come-and-go reception was held at The Silo Tuesday afternoon to congratulate LaTonya Goffney for being named Texas Superintendent of the Year.Sweetened bacon on skewers, guacamole and shrimp-stuffed chips, vegetable cups and a table of fruit with a large LP for Lufkin Panthers made out of blackberries were among the delicacies served by Tomé Catering.

State Rep. Trent Ashby and State Sen. Robert Nichols presented a proclamation to Goffney. Mayor Bob Brown, many friends and LISD employees were among those who stopped by to congratulate the LISD superintendent. Goffney’s middle school principal J.C. Leflore made a surprise visit. “I haven’t seen my principal in almost 30 years,” Goffney said.  Leflore said when he moved to Cold Springs and she was in the eighth grade, Goffney was running that campus.“Tonya, I’m so very proud of you,” Leflore said. “You can’t beat that.”

Nichols also addressed the crowd. “The fact that you are Superintendent of the Year for the state of Texas gives Trent (Ashby) and I bragging rights, because there is not another house member or senator in the state of Texas that has a Superintendent of the Year in their district,” Nichols said. “We wanted to bring you something here from the Legislature, so we’re here on official business as well as personal. And so we brought you a joint resolution from the state of Texas honoring you.”

A small part of the proclamation to Goffney read:

“Whereas Goffney is the first African-American woman to receive this prestigious honor, and has led LISD since 2013, she is removing barriers. In addition, she earned kudos for and developed a Hispanic advisory committee in a strategic planning group involving more than 100 local residents.

“And whereas she was president-elect in the Texas Council of Women School Executives,” the proclamation read.

Nichols told Goffney the proclamation was signed by both he and Ashby and does not say either house or senate but simply “state of Texas.” Ashby and Nichols presented Goffney with the proclamation, and Ashby spoke for a few minutes.

“To be Superintendent of the Year for over 1,000 school districts in our beautiful, beloved Lone Star State is just an amazing accomplishment,” Ashby said. “I’m just proud to call you friend. I’m proud to have two kids in this school district.”

Goffney spoke about her journey.

“My path would not even be possible without great education and without God on my side, so I make no apologies about the fact that I’m so thankful for a God who saw a hopeless situation and turned my dreams into a reality,” Goffney said. “I’m so proud that I get to live my dreams because of the work that each of you do.

“Mr. Leflore, I’m fortunate to work in a community that not only cares about what education looks like for their children, but they care about what education looks like for all children. I’m so excited that I have teachers and educators around me that believe in the power of education and the importance of adding value to every kid. We don’t care how they come to us. We care how they leave us. And we’re focused on making sure our kids graduate with choices and opportunities.”

By PAM STOKES The Lufkin News