Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff, who "rallied a nation" behind Joplin following the May 22, 2011, tornado, will be one of the keynote speakers at the Wisconsin State Education Convention, scheduled for Jan. 22-24 in Milwaukee.
According to the event's website, Huff will speak at the breakfast session on Thursday, January 23.
The event's website describes Huff in this fashion:
Dr. C.J. Huff is currently in his sixth year as the Superintendent of the Joplin Schools. On May 22, 2011 his district faced what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge. Ten of his 19 buildings were damaged or destroyed following the devastation caused by the most costly tornado in U.S. history. Hear how Dr. Huff, his team, and the board of education worked together to rally a nation to get the children of Joplin out of the rubble and back in school just 87 days later.
Dr. Huff arrived in Joplin in July 2008 to begin his work as Superintendent of the Joplin Schools. Prior to accepting this position, Dr. Huff served four years as the Superintendent of Schools in the Eldon School District, near Lake of the Ozarks. He has also served as a principal in the Nixa, Springfield, and the Bolivar School Districts and as an elementary classroom teacher in Bolivar, MO and Pleasanton, KS.
Dr. Huff received his two associate degrees from Labette Community College (Parsons, KS), a BS in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University (Pittsburg, KS), a Masters and Specialist Degree from Missouri State University (Springfield, MO), and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
In addition to his administrative responsibilities with the schools, Dr. Huff remains active in the Joplin Community through his participation on the Joplin Chamber of Commerce, Joplin Noon Rotary, Bright Futures USA Board of Directors, actively volunteers for Children’s Haven, and serves as a “lunch buddy” to at-risk youth through Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Dr. Huff was born and raised in Southeast Kansas near the town of McCune. Prior to becoming an educator he was a farmer for 8 years and attributes much of the success he has achieved to a strong work ethic and values instilled in him by his family. He has been married 15 years to his wife Jennifer. Together they have three children, of whom he is very proud, Savannah, age 12, Keaton, age 10, and Julianne, age 3.
The description has changed somewhat from earlier descriptions of Huff promoting some of his other speaking engagements. The earlier ones did not say much about his staff or the board of education. The following example comes from the program from the Oct. 17 California Emergency Services Association Conference in Santa Rosa:
After one of the most devastating tornadoes on record destroyed a third of the town, Dr. C.J. Huff, Superintendent of Schools in Joplin, Missouri, led his community in an amazing effort to rebuild—transforming this disastrous tragedy into the town’s finest hour. Huff’s demonstrated leadership helped Joplin schools and the community literally emerge from the rubble in what has been called “A model for those who study resilience” by U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen. Named one of People magazine’s 2011 heroes.
That is the same description used for Huff on his Washington Speakers Bureau page, which has been updated even though Huff told the Joplin Globe recently that he had only done one speech through the Speakers Bureau. According to a spokeswoman for the Washington Speakers Bureau, Huff is paid $8,000 per speech
2 comments:
Must have run out of Title One funds and have to move on to Plan B.
A silver mine for Bess, a cash cow for Huff. Misery for the rest of us.
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