The Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education created the ROSE Award – Recognizing Outstanding Support of Education – to honor individuals or groups for their services to the school district. At Monday’s board meeting, ROSE recipients were Charlie Bentley, Rosalinda Loera and Shelby Kern.

Bentley is the head custodian at Great Bend High School and Loera is also a custodian. In July, their dedication was particularly noted when USD 428 provided lodging for the world champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from Concord, Calif., as they were en route to Broken Arrow, Okla., for an international competition. During an overnight pit stop in Great Bend, they stayed in the GBHS Panther Athletic Center gym and practiced on the football field.

“This event could not have happened without the dedication of multiple people,” Superintendent Khris Thexton said when presenting the award. However, Bentley and Loera were repeatedly mentioned as employees who planned, answered questions and helped with whatever was needed to ensure the corps had what they needed.

“(They) showed commitment and thoughtfulness for this event as they do in their daily work throughout the year. The Board of Education applauds Charlie and Linda for their positive attitudes and hard work ethic.”

Kern received her ROSE for helping a choking student. Thexton explained:

“Recently, Shelby Kern, a teacher assistant at Jefferson Elementary, was at the right place at the right time visiting a classroom when she noticed a student having difficulty breathing. Shelby quickly sprung into action to administer the Heimlich maneuver and quickly dislodged an obstruction in the student’s airway so that the student could breathe easily again. When asked about the incident, Kern said, ‘I was just doing my job. My natural instincts kicked in, and I was able to help out. We are just thankful that the student is all right.’ Thank you, Shelby, for your quick response and service to our students!”