Great Sadness

Character education has lost an awesome ambassador and amazing advocate with the passing of Sandy McDonnell this week and there is a missing piece in the hearts of those of us fortunate to have met this gentle giant.  It was about ten years ago when we started the application process and our journey to become a National School of Character (NSOC) and it didn't take long to figure out that something special was going on with character education in the Show-Me State. How was it possible that SO many NSOC finalists came from Missouri?  After some research, I realized that that something special was actually someone special,
Sandy McDonnell.

Here we are accepting our award in DC; Sandy is far right.

After his stellar 40-year career with McDonnell Douglas, Sandy became the ultimate cheerleader for character.  He decided that his retirement could be well spent helping develop character in tomorrow's leaders; as such, he dedicated the rest of his days to a very lofty goal. And what did this visionary hope for and dream about?  That every school in Missouri, and ultimately in America, would become a National School of Character.  Click here to watch the heartwarming interview and hear Sandy's final thoughts to the Character Education Partnership; please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this time of great sadness. 
We will miss Sandy dearly and we thank his wife Priscilla for her undying support and encouragement of his HEART work.