Two Lansing residents honored at District 215 School Board meeting

Ernst Lamothe and Bryan Hernandez demonstrate excellence

by Melanie Jongsma

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (May 5, 2019) – At the April 30 meeting of the District 215 School Board, two Lansing residents were honored for unique achievements.

Ernst Lamothe

Ernst Lamothe was honored with an Excellence Counts award. Lamothe is the Director of Communications for Thornton Township, and in that capacity he looks for ways to support good things going on throughout the township. District 215 cited Lamothe’s funding of the annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Veterans Luncheon; provision of after-school snacks for TF North athletes; leadership in promoting breast cancer awareness; and distribution of headbands, shirts, and sweatshirts for TF South and TF North students.

The Excellence Counts award is designed to recognize individuals who impact the lives of students in District 215. Staff, parents, students, and community members are invited to submit nominations.

Bryan Hernandez

Student Bryan Hernandez was also recognized. A junior at TF South, Hernandez took first place in Collision Repair Technology at the state level. It is rare for a junior to win at state, and now Hernandez will represent Illinois at the national level in a competition at the end of June.

Collision Repair Technology is one of the competition categories offered by SkillsUSA Illinois, a membership association that serves high school, college, and middle school students. Information from the SkillsUSA website says they are “a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.”

In the Collision Repair Technology competition, students are given a task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation. Student skills are assessed at a series of workstations, in a written test, and in an interview.

Hernandez will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the national competition June 24–28.