An impressive milestone was celebrated at the Kalama School Board meeting on Monday, December 16, 2024, when Kalama School Board Member Wes Eader was honored for two decades of dedicated service to the board.
During the meeting, Eader was presented with the Kalama Family Award, a prestigious recognition given to individuals who have made a lasting and significant impact on both the district and the community.
“Wes is an individual who leads by example," said Kalama School District Superintendent Dr. Wesley Benjamin during the meeting. "He always stops to listen first. He is patient, he is kind, and he embodies every value that our community believes in.”
Eader, who was first appointed to the board in 2005, has been a steadfast advocate for Kalama’s public schools. During his time on the board, the district has experienced significant growth – both in terms of student enrollment and school facilities.
His tenure has spanned the hiring of two superintendents, an expansion of the district’s Career and Technical Education program (as well as several other elective courses), the passage of numerous school levies, the 2018 voter-approved school bond, the opening of Kalama’s first new elementary school building in 60 years, multiple state championships in high school athletics, a drive-thru graduation event during the COVID-19 pandemic, and much, much more.
Through it all, Eader said his decades-long service to the board is rooted in a desire to help give Kalama’s young people the opportunity to succeed in life.
“All three of my kids went to school here in Kalama and are now leading successful lives. I know the school district played an important role in that,” he explained. “So the way I see it, my purpose on the board is to do what I can to ensure that every generation of students is given those same opportunities to succeed.”
A Kalama resident since 1987, Eader graduated from Bartlett High School in Memphis, Tennessee, before earning a Business Administration degree from Memphis State University and two Master’s degrees from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Congratulations to Wes Eader on 20 years of remarkable service to the Kalama School District!