Stanley receives Let Service Light the Way award
Longtime county educator and community volunteer Diane Stanley was recognized by Breakfast Rotary Club Tuesday, June 17, as she was honored with the club’s Let Service Light the Way award.
The award, created by the club’s past presidents last year, is given annually to honor a community member who exhibits the Rotary ideal of “Service Above Self.” It takes its name from the theme of former Rotary International President James Bomar’s administration, “Let Service Light the Way.”
“Diane is someone who makes a difference wherever she is,” said Breakfast Rotary past-president Judith Roney. “For this award we were looking for someone who has consistently shown ‘Service Above Self,’ and Diane is someone who has made significant and lasting contributions to this community for over 25 years.”
A former Tennessee Junior Miss, Stanley has been an educator with Warren County Schools for 20 years. In 1992 she helped found Warren Academy, the county’s alternative school which she has directed ever since. In addition she has taught parenting classes for parents of strong-willed teen-agers for the school system and her church for the past eight years.
On the community service scene, she has been a leader for over two decades, beginning in 1979 as a co-founder of Junior Auxiliary, an organization of which she is also a past president.
In 1995 she founded the local Habitat for Humanity, which is building its seventh house. She has also organized the Walk for the Cure for Breast Cancer for the past four years, and has served as a United Giver’s Fund team leader.
A member of First United Methodist Church, Stanley has filled many roles, including that of Sunday School teacher and Pastor Parish Committee member. She is chair of the Nurture, Outreach and Worship Committee.
In years past she has been honored by readers of the Southern Standard as Ms. Warren County and as a Hometown Hero, among other recognitions.