WHEELING, W.Va., Feb. 26, 2019 — Associate Professor of Heath and Physical Education Kathleen Wack was singled out for her service to the city today by Mayor Glenn Elliott at his third State of the City Address.
Wack was presented with a plaque and honored for her work in updating and fundraising for the Woodsdale Elementary School playground. The updates included asphalt, fencing and landscaping, along with the installation of a rubberized surface, monkey bars and slides.
“I’m honored to receive this recognition, but we couldn’t have done it without community-wide support for this project. Building the playground certainly has highlighted the power of partnerships, including the efforts of the amazing women of the Woodsdale PTO Playground Committee and Principal Ashlea Minch, Mayor Elliott, the City Council, and Jesse Mestrovic (Wheeling’s parks and recreation director), along with Dr. Kim Miller and the Ohio County Schools Board of Education.” Wack said.
More than $225,000 was raised by a team of volunteers, led by Wack. The dedicated physical education educator also ensured the playground would be used by the public when school is not in session.
“The shared use agreement is important to our city and our communities and we are pleased to find that this shared use of playgrounds will continue with other schools and playgrounds throughout the city,” she said.
“Woodsdale is one of our Professional Development Schools (PDF) where our students gain field experience and work with professional teachers throughout the year and this is another reason that I was highly involved with this project,” she noted.
Wack has taught at WLU since 2011.
Wack and her husband, Joshua are the parents of three children, two of whom attend Woodsdale.
The public address was held at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 26. The 10th annual event was open to the public and free to attend.