January 8, 2018

Gail Vick

Board Member Since 2010

When Gail Vick moved to Lawrence two weeks into her ninth grade year, she was excited to know she would be attending the brand new South Junior High School. One problem though – construction on the new school was not completed, so she and her fellow students went to classes in a building and a few portables near Central Junior High

Finally for the last quarter of the year, Vick and her classmates were able to step foot into the new building and shortly thereafter become members of the first graduating class of South Junior High School.

After she graduated from Lawrence High School three years later, she stayed in town to earn a degree in pharmacy from the University of Kansas.

Vick and her husband Kevan, who grew up in Lawrence, sent three kids through the Lawrence Public Schools. She also began supporting the work of the Lawrence Schools Foundation as a donor. When she was asked to be a part of the board, she didn’t hesitate.

“I had always admired the people that I knew on the board and their enthusiasm for the mission,” said Vick, who joined the organization in 2010 and is one of the longer tenured members of the Foundation Board.

Vick has been extremely active during her tenure, serving on the Breakfast Committee, Follies Committee and Program Committee. She has also been a member of the Executive Committee as both vice president and president of the Foundation.

While there are so many ways the Foundation impacts the Lawrence Public Schools, Vick believes the annual fund-raising breakfast, attended by more than 500 community members each fall, provides a great window to what the organization is about.

“We do a lot of wonderful things, but I think we really shine on the morning of the Community Education Breakfast,” Vick said. “We feature a graduate of the Lawrence Public Schools as a keynote speaker, but we also recognize some outstanding seniors. When the orchestra kids are playing while people get their breakfast and the high school marching bands come in while people are sitting down – it is just the best.”

Vick, who enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, entertaining, going to the theater and Jayhawk games, and spoiling her six grandchildren, is steady in her passion of supporting our town’s school children.

“I believe the most important way we can impact our world is to give every child a solid education,” she said. “I also believe we should think globally and act locally so I think supporting public education on a local level is the best way to make sure every child in our community gets the best education we can possibly give them.”