PEABODY — The city came together Thursday to celebrate the 2023 George Peabody Legacy Award winners. The six special guests were honored with a dinner, followed by a presentation at the Higgins Middle School auditorium.
The George Peabody Legacy Award is presented by the Peabody Education Foundation to recognize and honor educators and philanthropists from within the community who have provided substantial contributions to the education system. Nominations for this award were solicited from the public and selected by a nomination committee. This year’s recipients were Karlyne Furnari, Fran Gallugi, David Gravel, Keri Kinnaly, Rosemary Slattery, and Mark Whiting.
“It’s the hall of fame for educators,” Gravel said.
Furnari, Gallugi, and Kinnaly are all educators who worked at Peabody Public Schools for at least three decades. While Furnari and Gallugi are both now retired, Kinnaly is still working as a third-grade teacher at Samuel Brown Elementary School. Slattery has recently retired from her role as head of the business department at Veterans Memorial High School. Whiting is also a recent retiree from his position as general manager of the NorthShore Mall. As a 20-year member of the Peabody Education Foundation, Whiting also created unique opportunities for education through his line of work.
“There’s a multi-classroom setting at the mall,” Whiting said. “It involves three teachers and an administrator. It’s an alternate school in the sense that kids from high school, who learn a little bit differently or maybe have an issue getting the credits they need to graduate, can go to the school.”
Whiting’s Simon Youth Academy has graduated more than 100 students.
Gravel’s case is also unique, as he is the president and chairman of the Peabody Education Foundation. He explained that he was more surprised than anyone to find himself on the list of recipients.
“They said I had to approve a press release, and I asked, ‘since when do we do this at a board meeting?’” Gravel said. “So I flipped it over and saw my name on it. It was a shock.”
Gravel also served four terms on the Peabody School Committee.
The ceremony was led by Councilor-at-Large Tom Gould, who gave a brief synopsis of each honoree’s contributions to the community. Each winner also got a unique video presentation where friends, family, and co-workers showed their love and gratitude.
“My mother brought to the schools endless love and endless chances,” Furnari’s son, Nino Furnari, said in a video tribute. “Yes, she taught social studies, but she really taught life.”
Along with the award itself, the six also received citations from the state Senate and House of Representatives.
“When I saw the list of recipients this year, with every name, I got more excited,” state Rep. Tom Walsh said. “This is one of the strongest and (the most) diverse teams.”
