<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Chesapeake City School Board Member Receives VSBA Quarter Century Award</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Recognized for 25 years of school board service</em></p>
<img class=" wp-image-13770 aligncenter" src="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/68B0EC0B-C8AD-45C8-93F3-1121443968A5-245x300.jpeg" alt="" width="297" height="364">

<strong>Charlottesville, VA</strong> – The Virginia School Boards Association is pleased to announce Thomas L. Mercer, Sr., Vice Chair or the Chesapeake City School Board, as this year’s VSBA Quarter Century Award recipient. He receives this award in recognition of 25 years of consecutive service as a school board member.

Mr. Mercer was elected to serve on the Chesapeake City School Board in May 1996 and was re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. He has also previously served as Board Chair from July 2004 to July 2008, as well as Vice Chair from 2002 to 2004 and from January 2014 to June 2014. Mr. Mercer is a lifelong resident of Chesapeake and currently serves as pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.  He is also active in his community in civic and leadership roles such as member of the Hickory Ruritan Club, past Vice Chairman and past board member of the Chesapeake Care Free Clinic, member of the Board of Advisors of the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation, and a member of the Great Bridge Clergy Association.

“We are honored to present Mr. Mercer with this prestigious award,” said VSBA President David Woodard. “Serving as a school board member is truly a labor of love and doing so for 25 consecutive years demonstrates admirable dedication to the students in his school division and public education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
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<strong>About the Virginia School Boards Association
</strong>The Virginia School Boards Association, a voluntary, nonpartisan organization of Virginia school boards, promotes excellence in public education through advocacy, training, and services. The Association offers conferences, information, training, and counseling designed to meet the needs of the Commonwealth’s educational leaders.