ESP of the year

NEA Today, May 1999

all Rasmussen, a local leader in the fight to keep kids in school and an Association and community activist, has been named the 1999 NEA Support Person of the Year.

"It's amazing to me how many hats she can wear at once and still meet each responsibility with the same level of fervor and attention so that nothing is neglected," says Anna Diehl, chief of community resource development at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In her day job, Rasmussen works as an attendance coordinator and community liaison at Eagle Point High School in Oregon. At the cutting edge of her field, Rasmussen uses a device called PhoneMaster to contact the family of any child who is absent for any period of time. She then works with truant students and their families to find ways to boost attendance.

Outside of work, Rasmussen has held several Association offices on the local, state, and national levels, from loca president to member of NEA's Board of Directors.

A dozen years ago, Rasmussen helped organize support employees at Eagle Point, then helped bring the NEA locals representing teachers and support staff in Eagle Point together. With 353 members, the new local is now the largest ESP-teacher merged unit west of the Mississippi.

In her spare time, Rasmussen volunteers at the Veterans Administration Domiciliary, the American Red Cross, the athletic booster club, and the Start Making A Reader Today (SMART) program, where she regularly gives up her lunch break to read at a local elementary school.

"Gail's high energy and enthusiasm is contagious," says Eagle Point Mayor David McFall. "She frequently goes above and beyond the beacon call to solve problems."