Representative Sanford Bishop Recognizes
Retiring Board Chair
Dr. Mary Sue Polleys
On December 6, U. S. Representative Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.,
read into the Congressional Record an accolade recognizing the service of
Retiring Board Chair Dr. Mary Sue Polleys to the community. On
December 11, he presented her with a plaque commemorating that event.
Congressional Record: Proceedings
and Debates
of the 109th Congress, Second Session
House of Representatives
In Honor of Dr. Mary Sue Polleys: A Good and Faithful
Servant to the Muscogee County Community
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great woman who has
without reserve given her all to Muscogee County, Georgia. On this day, Dr.
Polleys is retiring as Chair of the Muscogee County School Board, a position
which she has held for thirteen years. She has faithfully served her
community while blazing new trails for those who would follow.
Dr. Polleys grew up in Harris County, Georgia, and knew
early on that she wanted to make a difference in her community. To
that end, she came back to Columbus to teach school after graduating from
Mercer University. Not long thereafter, Mary Sue completed her master's
degree at Auburn University and taught speech at the college level for seven
years, tutored extensively, and became involved in corporate training.
In accordance with her ambitious nature, she did not stop with her master's
but went on to receive her doctorate from Auburn and served as Director of
the Servant Leadership Program at Columbus State University until her
retirement.
After being elected to the Muscogee County School Board in
November of 1993, Dr. Polleys led the School Board to a place where
consensus was the norm, mutual respect was expected, and discourtesy was
simply not acceptable. In less that five years, the school system
resolved its leadership issues, passed a $160 million capital program by a
three-to-one margin, developed a fund balance of over thirty days, resolved
its litigation, reversed the fall in test scores, and restored the
confidence of administrators and teachers. More importantly, she
restored the confidence of the parents and children whom the Board serves.
Other members of the Muscogee County School Board
characterize her this way: "As Chair, Dr. Polleys exemplified true
leadership by pushing us when we needed to be pushed, calming us when we
needed to be calmed, and teaching us when we needed to be taught. She
helped take us from a group of nine individuals, with nine separate agendas,
to a school board of nine public servants, with a single agenda, service to
the community, and care for all its children."
In a lasting tribute to Dr. Polleys, the School Board
entered this resolution: "It has been said that all of us should be
ashamed not to have made at least one victory for mankind during our
lifetime. By that standard, Dr. Polleys has earned not just the right
to be unashamed, but the right to be proud. If she thought in terms of
pride, she would be. She doesn't. If her accomplishments are to
be praised, we must praise them, because she won't."
Today, as Dr. Polleys moves into retirement from government
service, we honor her and thank her for all she has done for the benefit of
Columbus, Georgia--as an elected official and as a private citizen dedicated
to the good of others. Her exemplary service to her community has set
a standard of dedication and leadership that has inspired many and will
inspire many others.
