Photo courtesy of Pamela Campbell

Ann Jordan, the principal of Endeavour Elementary, is Mukilteo's 2010 Citizen of the Year.

 

Ann Jordan, principal of Endeavor Elementary, has been named Mukilteo’s Citizen of the Year.

 

The Kiwanis-sponsored award is given to a Mukilteo citizen to recognize the outstanding contributions he or she has made to the city.

 

Jordan was honored at the Mukilteo Kiwanis meeting on Aug. 31.

 

Kiwanis received more than 25 letters from co-workers, students and their families from the Mukilteo School District nominating Jordan.  

 

In the letters, nominations for Jordan noted not only the contributions she’s made as a teacher and principal in the Mukilteo School District for the last 22 years, but also for helping numerous families in the community when they needed it most.

 

“Ann is tireless,” said Superintendent Marci Larsen. “She will bend over backwards and do whatever she can to help individuals and groups in the community.  She really goes (above and) beyond. She is such a giving person.”

 

Some of the letters were so heartfelt that the judges – all former Citizens of the Year – were just about in tears, said judge Lois Brown.  

 

“There were loads of letters from children who wrote them themselves, and oftentimes English was their second language,” Brown said.  “It was pretty astounding, really poignant.  We were blown away.”

 

Of Jordan’s many contributions to Mukilteo noted in the letters were these:

 

Jordan started the non-profit Giving Wishes to help low-income families in the community at Christmas. Mukilteo schools, churches and businesses adopt families and provide them with five items they either want or need.

 

“It started with a boy in my classroom over 20 years ago who wanted a telescope. His family couldn’t afford it, so we went out and bought the telescope for him,” Jordan said, adding that the boy is now an engineer at NASA.

 

“Now we help about 600 kids every year.”

 

In 1999, Jordan heard about a 9-year-old girl from Guatemala who was brought to Mukilteo by a missionary, but abandoned.  

 

The girl had a crushed jaw, disfigured face and was starving.  Knowing she could help, Jordan became her legal guardian, arranged for her reconstructive surgery and supported her in school.

 

That girl – now a student at the University of Washington, studying to become a dentist – was not the first child from a third-world country to receive help from Jordan.  

 

When she was teaching at Lake Stickney Elementary, she had her students raise funds to help send a boy and a girl to the United States for life-saving surgery through the non-profit Healing the Children.

 

While at Odyssey Elementary, Jordan started the Madres Latinos and Padres Latinos groups, which offer networking and support to Hispanic families at the school.

 

Jordan also mentors about 30 high-school students every year as they prepare for college.  She helps them fill out applications, write essays, apply for scholarships and, of course, stay focused in school.

 

“A lot of kids need help with getting ready for college, especially if no one in their family has ever been to college themselves,” Jordan said.  “I work hard to give them a jumpstart.”

 

A 7-year-old girl from Mexico and student at Endeavour, born without a thyroid, also needed Jordan’s help.  The girl’s family immigrated to the United States on a medical visa for life-saving treatment at Children’s Hospital in Seattle.  

 

The girl was doing fine until recently, when she was diagnosed with two brain tumors.  

 

They didn’t get all the answers they needed from Children’s, so Jordan got them a flight to Tennessee for a second opinion at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

 

“Ann has helped so many families that we couldn’t even count how many,” said Cathy Gurr, from the district’s Department of Transportation.  

 

“She has never asked for anything in return. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Ann.”

 

Why does she do it all?

 

“I just care a lot about the people in our community,” Jordan said.  “What’s most important to me is doing what I can to help. It’s what I love.”

 

As Citizen of the Year, Jordan gets her name engraved on a plaque that hangs in the Mukilteo Library, as well as her own plaque, and will be in the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival parade on Saturday, Sept.12.

 

Jordan replaces Tony McNulty, the owner of Papa Murphy's Pizza shops in Mukilteo and Monroe, who was the 2009 Citizen of the Year.

 

To nominate the 2011 Citizen of the Year, look in the Mukilteo Beacon for the form available in June.