Congratulations to Barbara Fraser and Tony McQuiller, recently named Children’s Champions by Meriden Children First, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the health, development and education of Meriden children.
Each year, Children First seeks nominations from the public to honor a few select individuals who have gone above and beyond on behalf of the children of Meriden. The organization named Fraser and McQuiller as the 2012 Children’s Champions at its annual meeting in December at the Meriden Board of Education.
“All were amazing and deserving choices,” said Children First Chair Marisol Estrada-Soto.
In announcing the selection of Barbara Fraser as a Children’s Champion, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Benigni shared a long list of projects she has led or joined on behalf of Meriden students, including launching a citywide Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and serving as president of her children’s school PTOs at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In addition, Fraser is president of the Maloney Band Boosters and sits on the Meriden School Building Committee charged with overseeing the large-scale renovations of Platt and Maloney High Schools.
“This is even more remarkable,” Benigni said, “because her own children are no longer involved in the Meriden school system.”
Benigni further praised Fraser, who couldn’t be present to accept her award because she was picking up her children from college, saying, “Barbara Fraser has given so much and asked for so little.”
Of Co-Children's Champion Tony McQuiller, founder and director of the Boys to Men enrichment program, Benigni said, “He is passionate and persistent in his efforts to help young men succeed—not only in school, but in life.”
The Boys to Men program, run by the nonprofit agency New Opportunities, provides mentoring and enrichment activities for young African-American and Latino men from disadvantaged backgrounds. McQuiller “understands the challenges these young people face,” Benigni said.
McQuiller started the program nine years ago. In accepting the Children’s Champion honor, he thanked his staff, saying, “I couldn’t do it without them.”
