Jill Mahoney Awarded the Raymond K. Foley Award

NAUGATUCK, CT - The Naugatuck Parent School Council honored Jill Mahoney as the is the recipient of the 2021 Raymond K. Foley Award. This year's honoree has worked countless hours volunteering to improve the lives of the children of Naugatuck.

This award honors an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service and unselfish dedication contributing to the betterment of Naugatuck children. The PSC has presented the award annually since 1976. The Parent School Council also recognized the Volunteers of the Year from each school in the district.

This year’s Foley Award Ceremony was held Thursday, May 20 outdoors on the Naugatuck Green. Food Service Director Naugatuck Schools Kate Murphy served as the master of ceremonies. Ms. Murphy was recently named the School Nutrition Association of Connecticut (SNACT) Food Service Director of the Year.

City Hill Middle School Principal Eileen Mezzo welcomed the spectators and honorees.

Ms. Murphy called the names of the volunteers of the year to come forward to accept a rose and their recognition. Kris Zahno of Andrew Avenue, Liz DeCarlo and Helen Velazquez from Hop Brook, Samantha Ballolli of Maple Hill, Kristy Hebb from Salem, Amy Dorsey for Western, Maureen Green for Hillside, Brigit Gendron for Cross Street and Melissa Teator from City Hill Middle School. Ms. Teator also worked on organizing this year's award ceremony.

Rebecca Palm gave a history of the Foley Award before Ms. Mahoney was presented with the award. She then delivered her recipient speech.

From the printed program distributed to the attendees:

As her own children moved through the school system, she participated in the PTO's, Girl Scouts, and sports Booster Clubs. As the Director of the Connecticut Partnership for Children, she continued to support her community and empower others to do the same. While her position allows her to bring many programs to Naugatuck, Jill goes above and beyond.

Jill was instrumental in establishing the Mobile Food Pantry in Naugatuck, which distributes a supply of nutritious foods to over 500 local families per month. Jill coordinates the volunteers and successfully transitioned the food distribution during the pandemic to assure the continuation of this valuable service to the community.

A group of parents, teachers and administrators gathered on the Green to honor all of the volunteers for their hard work and dedication. In 2019, Linda "Gigi" Ramos was the recipient of the Foley Award and was honored at a dinner held at the Crystal Room.