PENTA Management Associate is honored with Outstanding Volunteer Award

WESTBOROUGH _ Deborah Penta, CEO of PENTA Communications, Inc. is pleased to announce that the firm’s Director of Client Relations, Rhonda Engelking was awarded the Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce School to Business Partnership Outstanding Volunteer Service Award on March 26, 2009.

The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award was created to recognize an individual who has gone the extra mile on behalf of the Corridor Nine’s School to Business Partnership.

Over the years, Engelking’s accomplishments and volunteer contributions have included being an active participant on the School to Business Partnership Committee; a member of the team that evaluates the mini-grant applications and interviews students for scholastic scholarships; serving as a business liaison for Mill Pond School in Westborough and participating on their School Council for the last three years. She is a consistent volunteer at the Corridor Nine’s Annual Golf Tournament and is a member of several subcommittees that are formed to review current programs or to help design new school/business partnership programs.

“Rhonda has dedicated tremendous leadership and expertise to benefit the educational initiatives in our region. She has been an advocate for helping the schools through the Corridor Nine School to Business Partnership and spent many years volunteering while her children were in the local schools. She is an outstanding leader and truly exemplifies our mission of paying it forward and giving back to the community. We are all very proud of her accomplishments and thrilled that she received this much deserved award,” said Penta.

According to Corridor Nine Vice Chairperson Donna Cox, Engelking has been an active and devoted participant since 2004.

“Rhonda commits her time for numerous school events such as being a volunteer judge for both the ‘Jobs for Bay State Graduates Senior Class Presentations’ and Assabet Valley’s senior projects. She has assisted in recruiting speakers for Westborough High School’s Career Days, and has been a visitor for “Back to School Day,’” Cox said. “Without a doubt, Rhonda has been a leader in supporting curriculum enhancement and a driving force in bringing the resources necessary to support our educational community.”

Reene Hatherley, principal of Mill Pond School concurs.

“It has been my pleasure to work with Rhonda as our school’s liaison to the Chambers School to Business Partnership Committee. She has been a great communicator, advocating for Mill Pond’s needs, and keeping us in the loop with the Committee’s activity for the past several years,” she said. “In addition, Rhonda has been a dedicated member of our School Advisory Council, attending monthly meetings and contributing many ideas and suggestions for improving our practices as a school community. Rhonda is truly deserving of this recognition.”

“I was honored to been given this award. The advancement of education in particular is a vital part of my daily life,” Engelking said. “I have been actively involved in the Westborough school system since my children were young, and have found the Corridor Nine School to Business Partnership is a great way to make a positive impact in our schools. As an active member of the business community, I believe it is important for businesses to maintain relationships with the schools as well as give of their time and resources.  I am grateful to play a role in helping to facilitate this.”

PENTA Communications, Inc. has dedicated tremendous time and resources to help schools in its community and various educational initiatives in the region. Along with providing its own Annual Scholarship and providing a multitude of internships and hands-on learning experiences for students, the firm has been a steadfast contributor to the Corridor Nine School to Business Partnership.  For many years, it has contributed funding to support the organizations’ mini-grants and scholarships annually. It has been a sponsor of the School to Business Partnership Golf Tournament and the Company has enjoyed donating the time and talents of its staff and financial resources to support the Chamber’s School to Business Partnership programs.