INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The School District of Indian River County honored Hunter Slade, Suzanna Seymour and Hutson Warner as its top volunteers at a recent luncheon. Slade is a Vero Beach High School student who was nominated for his volunteer work at both Vero Beach Elementary and Thompson Magnet School. After hearing his mother, Kim Slade, an elementary school teacher, express her concern about students who were struggling with mathematics, Hunter started a tutoring program at Thompson Magnet School and then Vero Beach Elementary. In addition, he supported the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” and worked with Indian River County Firefighters at the annual fair to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. Seymour, the 2010 adult volunteer of the Year for the school district, has also been named a regional winner for the state of Florida. She has been volunteering at Vero Beach Elementary School twenty-five hours per week for the past five years. She is an active member of the PTA and has used her talents as a recruiter to grow the organization at Vero Beach Elementary. She also manages the school uniform store, and the “tribal store” which is where students go to redeem Positive Behavior Support coupons. Warner was named senior volunteer of the Year. A former custodian and media assistant at Vero Beach Elementary, Mr. Warner just couldn’t stay away after retiring from the School District in 2006. He volunteers at VBE an average of twelve hours per week, mentoring students and assisting them in the classroom with reading assignments. He can also be found regularly tending to the Butterfly Garden he created on campus.In all, the school district honored 45 volunteers at the luncheon held at the Heritage center on April 22.
