Recently, Diane Culver was named the Parent Teacher Association Volunteer of the Year, an award voted on by the staff. Culver has been volunteering at the school for four years.

“I have been working for the staff and students of East since the very beginning,” Culver said. “I am so honored and humbled to receive this award.”

Just because her daughter senior Nikki Culver, is graduating and leaving the school doesn’t mean Culver will too.

“I have made a promise to these kids that I will stay through the endowment of the scholarship fund for their future and so I will be here a bit longer,” Culver said.

Some students have even developed relationships with her and are happy for her to win the award too.

“I love Mrs. Diane and I’m so glad that she won. She is always there for us when we need her to be,” senior Maranda Bethel said.

Culver provides support for not just the students, but the teachers as well, organizing the “Feed the Teachers” program every year.

“I have watched the staff grow and give its very best to the students on a daily basis,” Culver said. “We truly have some of the greatest people to teach our kids, not just in the classroom, but life lessons as well. They lead by example and that is the biggest impact they can have on our kids.”

The staff is grateful to Culver for her efforts in supporting the school as a whole and recognize her hard work.

“I have been so thankful for Diane’s efforts to raise money for the school,” principal Mike Williams said. “I am so glad for the staff’s decision to present her with this award.”

Culver acts as a mother to the student body as a whole.  She has watched all of her kids grow through their high school careers and stick together even when the community put them down.

“I have been blessed to see a very special group of young men and women come into their own and watch them persevere through the difficult times both as one student body and individuals,” Culver said. “They have overcome obstacles with more grace than most adults I know and have shown true character. It is I who is truly blessed to have been such a small part of it all, and I am truly grateful for that. ”