Kirk to be recipient of Dream Big Award during Night to Dream Big Gala on Nov. 1

QUINCY — Carson Kirk, trustee emeritus at the Quincy Public Schools Foundation, will be honored with the Dream Big Award during the Night to Dream Big Gala on Friday, Nov. 1, at the Oakley-Lindsay Center.

The Dream Big Award is reserved for those who have made a remarkable impact on the QPS Foundation or the Quincy Public Schools community. Kirk has demonstrated significant and longstanding generosity and commitment to the Quincy Public Schools Foundation. His support of the Circle of Investments program has developing the organization. He allows the foundation to positively impact Quincy Public School students and staff.

“I’m very touched and honored as I don’t really like to toot my own horn. I am lucky to have this opportunity to try to give back to things that were important to my parents, particularly to education, because my parents and my grandmother were all teachers,” Kirk said in a press release.

Kirk’s grandmother, Dena Gooch Eakle, was a third-grade teacher at Franklin School, later named Franklin Square. His mother, Carolyn, graduated from Quincy High School in 1944, and taught eighth grade English and American history at Quincy Junior High School from 1948 to 1960. Kirk’s father, Houston Kirk taught advanced mathematics at Quincy High School for 22 years and was responsible for introducing calculus into Quincy’s curriculum.

Kirk was the first to contribute to the Quincy Foundation for Quality Education’s (QFQE) Circle of Investments program in memory of his father. This circle provides funding for math education throughout the Quincy Public School district.

“My dad passed away in 2002, and shortly after he passed, my mother and I were in Quincy visiting,” Kirk said. “I had a meeting with Loree Korb and Carol Mickle. They were just getting the Circles of Investments program off the ground. I created a circle for him, the Houston Kirk Memorial Fund for Mathematics. Every year since then, the Kirk Family Foundation contributes or sets up a circle. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to give back to education because it was obviously very important to my parents and grandmother as they were educators.”

The Circles of Investment are endowed funds that offer a way to pay tribute to a person, group or organization of choice, all the while providing crucial financial support to the Quincy Public School system. Donors can specify the exact purpose of their investment, cultivating a lasting and transformative impact on the community’s future generations. Through the oversight of nearly 100 Circles, the Quincy Public Schools Foundation provides school administrators and teachers with a means to obtain funding for special projects that may not have other sources of funding while also ensuring the continuation of programs during economic volatility and budget reductions.

In memory of his grandmother, Kirk created the Dena Gooch Eakle Elementary Education Circle to advance elementary education in the district. In memory of his mother, Kirk established the Carolyn Eakle Kirk Scholarship for Language Arts and History Circle.

Kirk established this fall the Carolyn and Houston Kirk Family Circle for Mental and Physical Wellness, which emphasizes the importance of student and staff members’ well-being and health.

Kirk’s parents were both teachers at QPS when they were introduced by a well-known figure.

“The school administrator at the time, Robert E. Meyer, back in 1949 was the person who introduced my parents to each other,” Kirk said. “They probably would have met eventually, especially since they were both teaching, but it was Bob who introduced them at a teachers’ conference. I used to kid about it, that if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have come along.”

Kirk was born in Quincy, attended Adams Elementary School and lived here until he was 12. His father, Houston, retired in 1972 from teaching and then moved the family to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1973.

“I attended in the mid to late 60s and early 70s,” he said. “At that time, Adams Elementary School consisted of kindergarten through sixth grade. I loved Adams, and I was thankful I went to a school like Adams that provided a good start for me. I was in public school in Quincy, and my parents had always taught in the public schools. When I moved to Florida, I guess the public schools down there didn’t have a great reputation, so my parents enrolled me in a private school.”

Tickets for the event are $80 each and $550 for a table of eight seats. Tickets can be bought online at qpsfoundation.org/ntdb. Tickets may be bought by calling the foundation office at 217-228-7112. All proceeds will benefit the mission of the Quincy Public Schools and the QPS Foundation.

Gifts to the Dream Big Campaign should be made to QPS Foundation through the foundation office at Quincy High School, by postal mail or the foundation’s web site, www.qpsfoundation.org. Mobile device users may donate electronically by texting “QPSF” to number 44-321. People interested in endowment giving may contact the foundation office at 217-228-7112 to request more information.