September PFA Falcon Wings 

FWCD’s Parent Faculty Association awarded Chelsy Beninate, Assistant Head of School for Operations and Security,  with the September Falcon Wings honor. Falcon Wings recognize PFA volunteers, FWCD teachers or staff who soar above and beyond the call of duty to enhance PFA programs or events or have improved the greater FWCD community by their dedication and enthusiasm. Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World was donated to the library in her honor. Read her more at September Falcon Wings.

Carrie Naylor McPadden, PFA Falcon Wings Chair,  shared the announcement at the September 9 PFA meeting of the year:

Imagine the main water line to the Martin Campus Center gets cut an hour before the Upper School orchestra concert in the Scott Theater. You have hundreds of families about to come to campus. What do you do? Most of us would panic and pray that no one needs to use the restroom. Instead, this Falcon Wings recipient wears a giant smile on her face and greets everyone as if there is not a problem in the world. That is Chelsy Beninate. Nothing phases her.

Last year, Chelsy had two ENORMOUS roles on campus – Assistant Head of School for Security and Operations AND Director of Fine Arts. Quite literally, on that night, her worlds collided. There was an operations issue impacting a Fine Arts program, and she did not skip a beat.

When there is an issue, she listens, she problem solves, she makes you feel supported, and she resolves the problem – again, with a smile on her face the entire time. The woman can do anything, and she does everything very well.

Most of us have no idea what it takes for our school to operate or how hard she works, but we can promise you that it is a lot. We are incredibly grateful for her devotion to our school and the endless hours that she spends making our campus run smoothly.