The Junction Auto Family’s contribution of $125,000 to Berkshire Schools Jan. 20 brought smiles of appreciation from Berkshire Schools Board of Education members and administrators.
The Junction Auto Family’s contribution of $125,000 to Berkshire Schools Jan. 20 brought smiles of appreciation from Berkshire Schools Board of Education members and administrators.
Gathering at the dealership’s showroom in Munson Township with a handful of students, Ed Babcock and his son, Cliff Babcock, owners of Junction Auto, presented a letter to Stoddard summarizing the business’s multi-generational connection to the district.
“This is an exciting day for Berkshire Schools,” Stoddard said. “We’re very grateful to Junction Auto for their generous donation of $125,000.”
He said in a text Jan. 21 the $125,000 check would go into Berkshire’s Educational Foundation for the purpose of funding the new athletic facilities for the all-grade school being built east of Kent State University – Geauga.
The district is also planning to name the stage at the school after Mary Ann Babcock, Ed’s mother, in appreciation of everything the family has done for the school district, Stoddard said.
Ed spoke briefly about the family’s desire to support the schools and the new initiatives the district has adopted.
Cliff wrote the letter to Stoddard and the greater Berkshire family in remembrance of Mary Ann, who taught English at Berkshire Jr./Sr. High School (once called Burton High School) for nearly 30 years.
“She had a passion for education and for putting young people in the best place to succeed,” he wrote, adding he liked hearing her stories about supporting the wrestling team or chaperoning groups of students to England to learn about Shakespeare.
“When I bump into someone from Burton, the conversation inevitably leads to, ‘Your grandmother was my high school English teacher … Boy, was she tough, but, you know, she cared,’” Cliff wrote.
Although Mary Ann passed away in 2012, Cliff said he still sees her influence in the district.
“To see this community that she so deeply believed in come together with her passion for education and for investing in future generations of students would no doubt bring a smile to her face. It certainly brings a smile to ours.
“And it is in that spirit that we are incredibly humbled and honored to be able to support this next generation of Berkshire students in her name, and with her corresponding passion, through the appropriate Mary Ann Babcock Stage,” he continued. “Her time in the halls may have passed, but her legacy and passion will forever live on for future generations of teachers and students of Berkshire Schools.”
