January is National School Board Member Recognition Month, and what better way to celebrate than by getting to know the dedicated individuals who help shape the future of Kalama schools?
From fun facts to surprising hobbies, here are 20 things you probably didn’t know about our board members:
1. Kalama School Board Member Stephanie Harbell, who joined the board in 2024, served as a ball girl for the Seattle Mariners in the early 2000s. In this role, she accompanied the Mariner Moose around the park, and participated in many gameday activities.
2. Katie Perkins, Kalama School Board President, is an excellent cribbage player.
3. KSD Board Member Jeremy Kushner, who serves as the Board’s WIAA Representative, says his favorite place to vacation is in Thailand.
4. Wes Eader, currently the district’s longest-tenured school board member (20 years), was born in Frankfurt, Germany and adopted when he was an infant. Eader came to the U.S. in 1955.
5. Board Vice President Dustin Moon holds a 100-ton Master Captain’s License, which allows him to perform the duties of a boat captain on board vessels up to 100 gross tons.
6. When asked what she has learned as a member of the board, Katie Perkins commented, “In spite of facing challenges, our district has countless students, teachers, and staff members that truly care about each other. Being a part of bringing people together based on that commonality to discuss the future is both an honor and a privilege.”
7. Favorite movies? For Wes Eader, it’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Mission Impossible franchise.
8. What’s the best part about being a member of the Kalama School Board? According to Jeremy Kushner, “being a part of a new team that has realistic ideas and similar visions of what our education system should be focused on is very refreshing to me.”
9. Four of the district’s five board members said math was one of their favorite subjects to learn about in school. “I was fortunate to have a couple of elementary teachers whose enthusiasm for the subject was truly contagious,” said Harbell. “Their passion left a lasting impression on me and sparked my own love for math. Later, I was lucky enough to teach math in Kalama before having my own children. I hope I was able to make a similarly positive and lasting impression on my students, just as my teachers did for me.”
10. When asked about their favorite hobbies, all five board members talked about getting outside – whether it be playing sports or exploring the outdoors on a backpacking adventure.
11. Wes Eader has stood in two countries at the same time, and no, one of them was not the United States. During a trip to South America, Eader stood with one foot in Brazil and one foot in Paraguay. “I spent a week in Ponta Para, Brazil, which is referred to in the first sentence of John Grisham’s novel, “The Partner,” he added.
12. Dustin Moon is a huge sports fan, and pickle ball is currently his favorite sport to play.
13. Looking for a new vacation spot? Katie Perkins is a big fan of Southern Utah.
14. The best part of serving on the school board, according to Stephanie Harbell, “is having the opportunity to represent the best interests of every child and their learning. It's incredibly fulfilling to contribute to decisions that support students' growth and success.”
15. “Step Brothers” and “Family Stone” top the list of Jeremy Kushner’s favorite films.
16. Katie Perkins’ favorite movie is 1993’s Tombstone.
17. Something that Dustin Moon has learned since joining the school board? “A school budget is very complicated and has lots of moving parts, and that [the Educational Programs and Operations] levy is very important to our district and we are very fortunate to have a community that supports our schools!”
18. Stephanie Harbell is a certified scuba diver. She and her husband enjoyed some amazing underwater adventures before becoming parents. These days, she enjoys going snorkeling with her four kids.
19. Wes Eader is the proud owner of a black labradoodle named “Raven.”
20. All it takes is one teacher to leave an impression that can last a lifetime. For Dustin Moon, one of those teachers was Mr. Sorsby. “If it wasn't for Al Sorsby, my freshmen math geometry teacher, I may not have loved math so much, but he made it fun and his excitement for teaching made me love it and want to be a teacher.”
We hope you enjoyed getting better acquainted with the members of the Kalama School Board!