Frank Jewett /Hanson School

Lois Hoyt won the Gazette’s Great Person Award, Hoyt was nominated for the Gazette’s inaugural award by Buxton Librarian Laurie Dunlap. Lois has been volunteering at the Frank Jewett /Hanson School library for 20 years. The Gazette presented her with a plaque at the Citizenship Assembly on January 26 at 8:55 at Hanson gym.

Laurie Dunlap said: “Lois has been a library volunteer since 1987 when I first started in M.S.A.D.#6. She had written a letter to Ron Barker(former Superintendent) expressing her interest in volunteering in the Buxton schools. She is a former teacher and had been in a pretty serious car accident and was no longer teaching but wanted to work with kids. Ron passed the letter on to Paul Vincent (then Principal at Frank Jewett/Hanson) and Paul handed it to me and suggested I give her a call. She was willing to come in whatever day I needed her and has been coming back ever since. I give her a call in the fall when I am scheduling and she'll say ‘Put me in wherever you need me’ She has been doing the overdue list each week since then, in the days before we were automated, it sometimes meant hours of typing. When I read about the Gazette Great Person Award, I thought Lois would be a good nominee, so submitted her name along with a short paragraph about her. When it was time to vote, I made ballots available to students and staff and Lois won!!”

Laurie Dunlap also said that Lois Hoyt raises Australian sheep dogs, and enters them in various competitions, she has no children, and also is a cancer survivor. She said “Hoyt is an excellent example to students and staff alike. She has certainly had enough things happen to her to be a bitter person but she is really one of those people who sees the glass as half full.”