Dr. Penny Lott was presented with the President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Call to Service Lifetime Achievement Award by the CEO of the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. With the many acts of service Lott has done over the years, her heart still beats for education. She has served in the education field for over 35 years.
Education was a passion from start to finish
Born and raised in Metter, GA, Dr. Lott attended K-12 in Metter and obtained a degree in education from Georgia Southern University in 1982. Lott first started teaching in January 1983. She continued to teach until 1985, then got out of the field.
She moved to Alexandria, Virginia, and worked there until she later made up her mind that teaching was her true calling. After giving her notice in Virginia, she moved back to Georgia and continued teaching in Tattnall County in the late 1980s.
Throughout the duration of her years teaching, she’s worked in elementary and middle schools. She has worked in several counties including Evans, Tattnall, and Chatham, and she is currently working in the Bulloch County School System.
“In the course of the whole time, I have taught everything.”
Dr. Penny Lott
While working at the new William James Middle School, her principal asked her to get certified to teach gifted courses as a 7th grade teacher.
“I was teaching gifted in 7th grade, and they decided to change it to where there was only one gifted teacher in the whole school,” Lott said. “And I didn’t want to teach all three grades.”
She retired some years ago as a full-time Bulloch County educator and is currently back to teaching part-time at Langston Chapel Middle School.
Dr. Lott’s passion for volunteering leads to impressive award
Dr. Lott’s eagerness for volunteering has been part of her life for many years. In her early years, she volunteered at William James Middle School, keeping the books for softball, baseball and track teams. She has and still volunteers for the Langston Chapel Middle School basketball team. This is what she said when asked for her motivation for volunteering:
“Just to help other people and I like to stay busy.”
Dr. Penny Lott
In fact, when Dr. Lott was presented with the award by the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, it was at a breakfast during Youth Assembly, a conference for high school students at which she was volunteering.
“I work with them on a volunteer basis,” Lott said of the organization. “The CEO of the company went through the process of getting this award to me and for other people.”
Dr. Penny Lott
Dr. Lott mentions that she volunteers with this organization because she loves the work. This new organization grew out of the State YMCA of Georgia when the state YMCA was dismantled. She was a part of the YMCA as a student in school, became a volunteer for YMCA in college, and was then a long-time YMCA advisor when she started teaching school.
Lott's lifelong commitment recognized
The presidential achievement certificate presented to Dr. Lott reads, “With grateful recognition, the AmeriCorps and the office of the President of the United States honors Penny Lott with The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their life-long commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service.”
This award is signed by President Joe R. Biden and was accompanied by a letter on official White House stationery.
“I’m very humbled by the award. It’s humbling to know that I have a plaque that has the signature of the President.”
Dr. Penny Lott
Congratulations, Dr. Penny Lott, for this impressive recognition of your many years of actively serving our community. Thank you for doing more than 4,000 hours of Grice Good!
