Oct 1, 2010 / 15:57 pm
More than 600 people honored the many men and women who volunteer their time and talents to support Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford at a dinner Sept. 26 at the Aqua Turf Club.
The 33rd annual HOPES (Help Our Parish Elementary Schools) Dinner honored 126 people who support 49 schools and singled out three people for special recognition.
Joan Jespersen of St. Anthony School in Winsted received the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, named after the patron saint of Catholic education. Father Joseph V. DiSciacca, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Bristol, was named the 2010-11 Distinguished Elementary School Pastor; and Margaret Williamson, principal and chief administrator of Northwest Catholic High School, was named the 2010-11 Distinguished Catholic School Administrator.
Dale R. Hoyt, superintendent of Catholic schools, announced that St. James School in Manchester and St. Martha in Enfield had received the national 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools Award for academic excellence. The Blue Ribbon award is the highest honor a school can receive from the U.S. Department of Education, which this year selected 50 private and parochial schools and 254 public schools in the country to receive the recognition.