Maine State Board of Education chair receives national honor

  AUGUSTA – Dr. Steven Pound, chairman of the Maine State Board of Education, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education at the organization's national conference in Chicago, Ill. on Oct. 12. The national award is given annually to a state board of education member in recognition of outstanding service to public education.

   “At this pivotal time in public education, state boards are the lynchpin to successful education reform policies and their implementation,” said NASBE Executive Director Jim Kohlmoos.

  “Steve Pound’s decades of experience in public education enhances the work and perspective of the Maine State Board of Education and the NASBE Board of Directors. He is richly deserving of the NASBE Distinguished Service Award for his past achievements, current efforts, and for the leadership he will continue to provide for years to come.”

  In addition to serving as chairman of the Maine State Board and on the NASBE Board of Directors, Pound currently sits on 20 other boards that relate in some way to education and career development. Among these are the State Workforce Investment Board, the board at Eastern Maine Community College, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Council, and the Maine Youth Transition Committee.

   Pound’s 40-year career in education includes service as a middle and high school teacher, a coach, athletic director, lecturer in career and technical education, vice principal, principal, adjunct professor, early childhood education business owner, adult education teacher and director, district superintendent, and more in the United States, Great Britain and Canada.

  He was named Quebec City Region’s Principal of the Year in 1985-86 for doing the most for education and athletics, and runner-up for the award for the entire province. He also honored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education with its Distinguished Service Award for Canada in 1997.

  Pound is currently employed by Cianbro Corporation in Pittsfield as Associate Director for Workforce Development with the Cianbro Institute.  He is from Millinocket and currently resides in Greenville, where he was superintendent of schools for School Union 60.