Webb's Elkins to be honored

Dorothy Elkins' dedication to Webb School has been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. On Monday. she will be in New York to accept an award from the organization for her work.
(Submitted photo)

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Elkins, 83, has dedicated more than 52 years of her life to The Webb School in Bell Buckle. As a secretary, she reported directly to six former headmasters of The Webb School; and as a secretary/assistant in the Alumni and Development Office, she has worked for four different development directors.

The Bell Buckle native was recently selected by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to receive the Support Staff Distinguished Service Award for her commitment to Webb and its students. She will travel to New York City, her first visit to the "Big Apple," to accept the national award at the CASE/National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Conference on Monday, Jan. 25.

According to John Holtz, senior awards program coordinator for CASE, the judges were touched by Elkins' dedication to The Webb School, but also by the students' dedication to her.

"It was impressive to the judges that students come back as alumni to share a lunch with her, and that over the course of 52 years she is still connecting on a personal level with the students, some of whom are children of alumni that she well remembers," he said.

"The other candidates were very well qualified, but in the end Dorothy Elkins won easily," Holtz added.

Elkins said she feels honored and humbled by the recognition.

"I'm just elated, thrilled," she said.

Elkins' career at Webb began with a temporary assignment in 1957, assisting the secretary to then-principal G. Webb Follin.

"I was asked to come help out for two to three weeks," Elkins recalled. At the time she was managing the books for her husband James' business, Elkins' Garage, and caring for their son, Bobby, then 5.

The temporary job at Webb turned permanent and when Sybill Steiner, secretary to the principal/head of school, resigned a couple of years later, Elkins took the job and never looked back.

"I've enjoyed all of it, every minute of it. I still enjoy it," she said.

Elkins is a 1944 graduate of Bell Buckle High School and a graduate of Shelbyville Business College. She married James, a World War II veteran and fellow Bell Buckle native, on her birthday, Aug. 29, 1946. The couple was married for 62 years until James' death in May 2009.

In 1988, Elkins transferred from the Webb Administration Building to the Alumni and Development Office. She continues to work on a part-time basis for the Alumni and Development Office as a research assistant.

Among her duties are hand-addressing and mailing personalized birthday and sympathy cards to Webb's 2,700-plus alumni.

"I send out about 200 birthday cards a month," she said. To Elkins, these cards are much more than paper and ink; they include the genuine feelings she has for the individuals to whom they are addressed.

"When I send out the cards, I think about how happy they will be that we thought about them," she said.

According to Development Director Michael Morgan, Elkins is instrumental in helping the school maintain its relationships with alumni and is a valuable resource for the Alumni and Development Department and the school as a whole.

"It's the personal touches she provides that make all the difference," he said.

Elkins' fans, The Webb School Alumni, would agree.

The day after the CASE award was announced to alumni via email, Elkins received more than 40 notes of congratulatory wishes.

Earl Conrad, a 1987 graduate, wrote: "The only thing surprising about the news of your award is that it hasn't occurred sooner. ... I will forever cherish you for all that you did for me during my four years at Webb; you always made me feel special, even though you had so many others for which to attend."

Lewis Bear, Jr., a 1959 graduate, commented: "Though it has been over 50 years since I graduated from Webb, I will always remember your soothing remarks every time I was sent to Mr. (G. Webb) Follin's or (Principal John) Morgan's office. You always made me feel like it wasn't going to be as bad as it always turned out to be."

Stephen Peters, who graduated in 1973 from The Webb School, said: "I recall with fondness the kindnesses you extended to this homesick Indiana boy during my freshman year. Also, many thanks for typing my college application to Amherst College."

Peters' closing remarks summarize the impact of Elkins' work at Webb and likely express the sentiment of the majority of its alumni.

"I hope that this email finds you well; that you know you are much loved by generations of Webb students, and that through your daily kindnesses, you have influenced the world far beyond Bell Buckle, Tennessee."