North Lenoir principal and Northeast data manger honored by AEOP
Bright personalities and can-do attitudes won out Tuesday when the LCPS chapter of the N.C. Association of Educational Office Professionals presented its top annual awards to North Lenoir High School principal Rhonda Greene and Northeast Elementary School data manager Retenner Neal.
Greene, a former principal of the year for the district, was named AEOP Administrator of the Year for 2023-2024. Neal, who’s worked in her current role since 2014, received the 2023-2024 AEOP Professional of the Year award.
Former state AEOP president Sharron James-Bizzell, the district’s licensure specialist and a member of the selection committee, presented the awards during a luncheon held at the Lenoir County Agricultural Extension building.
Among the some 70 AEOP members and others on the guest list were immediate past state AEOP president Mary Jones, who supervises the district’s professional development center, Superintendent Brent Williams, district administrators, school principals and, from the Lenoir County Board of Education, chair Bruce Hill, vice-chair W.D. Anderson and member Merwyn Smith.
“I take very seriously what I do daily,” said Neal, who from her post in Northeast’s front office is usually the first person to greet visitors. “I try to treat everyone with kindness. I like to treat them the way I’d like to be treated.”
Neal worked for LCPS as a tutor for two years, starting in 2012, before moving into her permanent role. In 2020, she was honored as the LCPS Non-Instructional Classified Employee of the Year.
“I have come across few people in my career who approach each day with joy and with understanding to lift others,” a letter of recommendation for Neal read. “She is the heart of her location. She puts her heart into everything she does.”
Greene, a graduate of North Lenoir High, is in her first year as principal there but in her ninth year as an LCPS principal. She served in that role at Northwest Elementary for two years and at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School for six years. Previously, she was an assistant principal at EB Frink Middle School and taught for 22 years at Northwest. She was named the district’s Principal of the Year in 2016. She earned her bachelor and master’s degrees from East Carolina University.
“Her energy and enthusiasm are contagious,” a letter of recommendation read. “She is persistent and fierce in her advocacy for students. To work with her or for her is to be in the presence of the most genuine, talented school administrator.”
In accepting her award, Greene said, “I enjoy working with everyone. I have been at many schools and I’ve loved every single school I’ve been at.”
Also at Tuesday’s luncheon, the chapter presented scholarship awards to graduating seniors Jada Sutton of Kinston High School and Turner White of South Lenoir High School. Jada will attend North Carolina A&T University to pursue a nursing degree and Turner is heading to Campbell University with plans to become a pharmacist.
Sworn in as chapter AEOP officers for 2023-2024 by Superintendent Williams were Esther Hines, president; Lottie Lawson, vice president; Ivey Price, secretary; and Sandra Jones, treasurer.
Like the national and state organizations of AEOP, the local chapter strives to provide professional growth through leadership, education, achievement, recognition and networking opportunities for educational office professionals.
North Lenoir High School principal Rhonda Greene, right, accepts the Administrator of the Year award from Sharron James-Bizzell, presenting on behalf of the LCPS chapter of the Association of Educational Office Professionals at the chapter’s annual awards luncheon Tuesday.
Retenner Neal, right, data manager at Northeast Elementary School, was honored as AEOP Professional of the Year by the LCPS chapter of the Association of Educational Office Professionals. Sharron James-Bizzell, the district’s licensure specialist and a member of the selection committee, presents the award.
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