A hearty congratulations to honorees Angela and David Dubovsky, Vanessa and Jonathan Bass, and Fabiola and Dan Price, as they receive our foundation's top honor!
On the evening of Sunday, November 17, 2024, long-time BCE donors, supporters, staff, and friends, gathered at the Burlingame Public Library for a celebration of Scholars Circle and the Distinguished Service Awards. The night was a festive champagne celebration featuring student musicians, as well as the Notebooks, the BSD staff and faculty choir. The nearly one hundred community members in attendance had time to mix and mingle, honor this year's awardees, and learn about the new Endowment Donor Recognition Plaza at BIS.
The BCE Distinguished Service Award is an annual award recognizing exemplary volunteer service, leadership, and commitment to the mission to help Burlingame School District sustain and enhance an exceptional public education for all TK-eighth grade students. Selecting this year’s recipients from families who graduated eighth grade at Burlingame Intermediate School this past spring was particularly difficult, as the organization has accumulated many incredibly deserving volunteers who have supported BCE over a sustained period of time.
I said it last night and I’ll say it again—once BCE, always BCE! Everyone who attended last night and so many who couldn't make it have put a ton of time and energy into this great community of Burlingame. It’s such a joy to see the growth of the community. We all are a part of BCE in perpetuity because of the investments we’ve made. -BCE President Jen Faber
Speakers at the event paid tribute to each of the recipients, and shed light on their personal contributions to Burlingame schools. Each of the award members will be recognized on the Distinguished Award Plaque, which is displayed in the BSD Board Room at the Trousdale offices.
Angela and David Dubovsky
Angela Dubovsky is well known in the community for her dedicated service to BCE over many years, in several leadership roles. After serving as the Franklin PTA President from 2012 to 2014, Angela became the President Elect and then the President of the BCE Board. In 2017, she joined the foundation’s staff as the Director of Operations, moving on to lead the organization as Executive Director from 2020 to 2023. Angela is credited for professionalizing BCE’s operations, and streamlining board transitions and the flow of data in the volunteer-powered organization. During her tenure, Angela fostered strong partnerships with three different BSD superintendents. She led BCE through the worldwide pandemic, with minimal impact to successful fundraising. Angela was also a key player in founding the Endowment Fund in 2015.
Former BCE President Endowment Council Trustee Sari McConnell spoke to the crowd about Angela, saying, "Her leadership and service to BCE was always focused on making sure the rest of us could do our jobs really well. She removed obstacles. She built paths forward. She built dashboards that told our board exactly how we were doing so we could lean into all the right places in real time to get results. She made it possible for us to use data all year long to inform our decision making... In her nine years with BCE as volunteer and staff she helped grow our annual grant by 75 percent!"
David Dubovsky played an active role in Dad's Club at Franklin, coordinating Carnival and the Turkey Trot, as well as supporting Back to School night and volunteering at other events. McConnell added, "I’d also like to acknowledge Angela’s family, especially David, a community volunteer in his own right, who fended for themselves many times on nights Angela spent with BCE."
Vanessa and Jonathan Bass
For many years, Vanessa and Jonathan Bass have been passionate about their service to the McKinley community, and all of BSD. While at McKinley, Vanessa chaired the Harvest Festival twice and the McKinley Founders Day three times. Jonathan was President of the McKinley Dad’s Club. Vanessa also served on the BCE Board for two years as VP of Events. Former BCE President and current Co-Vice President of the Excellence Fund for the BHS Parents Group Liz Anderson said, "The Basses have spent countless hours holding other PTA and committee roles; serving as room parents; volunteering their time in the library, at Turkey Trots, at Halloween parades and on field trips; risking life and limb in McKinley softball and ping pong games; hosting so many auction parties; donating so many auction items; and just showing up at all—and I mean all—school events."
It was during Vanessa's tenure as VP of Events that BCE had to host the annual gala online, due to the pandemic shut down. With only a few weeks to plan, many in the room remembered the struggle to conceive and execute a video based event, and were grateful for Vanessa's flexibility and perseverance through those unprecedented times.
Fabiola and Dan Price
Much of Fabiola Price's long history of volunteer work for our schools has focused on event planning. She first got involved with the BCE annual fundraising event when her son entered kindergarten., joining the Board as VP of Events in 2015. From 2018 to 2020, Fabiola jumped in to serve as volunteer Lawn Sign Coordinator, leading her to join the BCE staff as Events Manager for three years.
Ingrid Gauthier, former BIS PTA President and current BHS Parents Group Executive Vice President, spoke to the group about the Prices' many years of service to our school communities. "What stands out to me most about Fabiola, is how she always makes it a point to streamline the volunteer work, really helping in the process of making it easier for volunteers to get involved and be more efficient in giving their time. Each and every one of us are in this room because we care, and it's an effort to volunteer. Her impact has been tremendous not only for work that she's done, but also because she's made others feel valued and empowered. She makes others want to help, and want to be part of this community."
If I had to name one accomplishment, I would say that I am proud to have worked alongside so many extraordinary volunteers over the years, with whom I helped the organization streamline processes and make volunteer time more manageable. -Honoree Fabiola Price
Alongside Fabiola, Dan served as a soccer coach, team manager, elementary school tutor, and was on the Executive Board of the Dad's Club at Franklin. Gauthier described that, "Dan did not just support Fabiola, he also became an active and essential part of the community. His background in finance made it a perfect fit for the superintendent's finance committee. This committee which included staff, board members, parent volunteers, teachers, and principals oversaw all the money that BCE raised that was going to the schools, to help make sure that the resources were used efficiently. Dan's expertise and commitment to supporting the financial health of our schools has been invaluable."
BCE Executive Director Meredith Dunn was thrilled with the energy of the event, and noted the many young families in attendance. "It is an honor to recognize the Dubovsky, Price & Bass families as this year's Distinguished Service Award Winners. BCE depends on the generosity of volunteers who donate their time and energy to help our TK-eighth public schools and this year's recipients truly demonstrated unwavering dedication in that pursuit. We are so appreciative of their selfless service to our Burlingame community and the impact they had on BCE during their time in the Burlingame School District."
The BCE Endowment Fund
As the Distingushed Service Awards honor the long-term legacy of volunteers meaningful contributions to our schools, the event is also a celebration of the BCE Endowment Fund. The BCE Endowment Fund was created to be a source of permanent financial stability supporting the needs of future generations of Burlingame public school students for years to come. Designed to work in concert with BCE’s Annual Fund, the BCE Endowment is a permanent, self-sustaining fund where the principal is invested and all or part of the earnings may be used to help support the costs of Burlingame School District programs and goals in a given year. In years where annual fundraising falls short or state funding is less, the Endowment Fund can help fill the gap.
BCE Endowment Fund Founders Circle recognizes donors who have made an investment of $10,000 or more including multi-year pledges. All donors who contribute a major gift towards that effort will be acknowledged in perpetuity in the BCE Endowment Donor Plaza at BIS. The Plaza will break ground in Spring 2025 as part of larger landscape and irrigation work being done to improve and beautify BIS.