People
Keep On Running

Paul Shimon has no problem going the distance. Last fall, the physical education teacher from Arkansas City, Kansas, ran his 100th marathon. The 30-year teaching veteran from Adams Elementary School clocked in at 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 9 seconds at the 23rd annual KAKE-TV/Wichita Marathon. "That was a day I will never forget," he says.

Shimon, now 55, ran his first race at age 17 after he saw a group of runners participating in a marathon. The site of their numbers flapping in the wind intrigued him, Shimon says.

Since then, Shimon has run in a variety of races, from the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts to the San Blas Marathon in Puerto Rico, usually completing several each year. Shimon also helped start the Melbourne Marathon in Florida, one of the oldest races in that state.

"I enjoyed every single one of them," Shimon says. "With every race I'm still going for the next one and staying motivated to do my best."

Even with 100 marathons behind him Shimon still runs 8 to 10 miles a day. "I love the feeling of being in motion," he adds. "Running helps me maintain my health and gives me the mental tenacity to do well."

Shimon passes on his healthy habits to his students as the coordinator of the Jump Rope for Heart program, an event that raises money for local charities and helps kids get in shape. He also created a running program for the children at Adams Elementary. "I believe it is important to pass those good habits on to them early," he adds.

With Shimon's steely drive and determination, there's no doubt that his 200th marathon is just around the corner.

--Leah Lakins

Finding Inspiration in New Places

NEA-Retired Michigan member Cleorah Scruggs often looks for inspiration in the small things in life, a habit gained from 30 years of teaching elementary school.

This morning, her inspiration comes from a picture in her home. It shows three African girls with books stacked on their heads, in their hands, and under their arms.

The picture reminds her of a trip she took to Nigeria, where she learned how a culture so very different from the United States values the same things: education and salvation. Three years later, she's still writing letters and e-mailing notes to her pen pals, several teachers she connected with while visiting a Nigeria orphanage.

Inspired by her experience, Scruggs created the Hookup Connection, a club that allows students to pen pal with someone who is different from them for one year. The pen pal could have a different religious, economic, or cultural background or could be someone with a physical disability. Fifth graders Brianna Newman (left) and Chelsea Miller (right) signed up for the club at the 10th annual National Multicultural Diversity Day, a celebration Scruggs created in 1993. Her diversity work has drawn nationwide recognition (including the May 2001 cover of This Active Life, the magazine for NEA-Retired members).

"I believe one person can make a difference," Scruggs says. "These pen pals will relate to each other and see the advantages of positive communication."

--Mary Kershaw

Job of a Lifetime

Can you imagine never missing a day of work for 30 years? Yes, most educators rarely take a day off, but for Antoine Djerbaka of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, teaching is a passion that requires his whole heart and perfect attendance every day. And he means every day.

"I wake up in the morning and I can't wait to come to school, and on the weekends I can't wait for Monday," he says.

This fourth-grade teacher at Crocker Elementary School has been teaching since August 1973 and he hasn't missed a day yet. Since the beginning of his career Djerbaka, a native of Syria, has taught at four schools in Fitchburg and has educated students in the 3rd to 12th grades in subjects such as algebra, earth science, and biology.

"Teaching is rewarding for me, and I find it very important to do whatever it takes to help the students improve," he says.

In addition to his marathon career, Djerbaka tutors students for standardized tests, organizes clothing drives for needy kids, and coordinates a program for local judges to read to his students.

What keeps him going? "I'm addicted to jogging, and I love to help single mothers," Djerbaka says. "When I see them struggling with their children I know I have to do my best to make a difference."

Even with 30 stellar years of teaching behind him, Djerbaka has no plans of slowing down. "I'm doing what makes me happy. And I'm not even thinking about retirement until they push me out the door."

--Leah Lakins

Speed Demon

Greg Serrano isn't Superman, but he knows all about traveling faster than a speeding bullet.

Serrano, an automotive services teacher at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois, belongs to the Spirit of America team, a crew of determined Americans trying to break the land speed record. Since 1992 the team, led by five-time record holder Craig Breedlove, has worked to build the world's fastest car. When Breedlove attempts his record-breaking drive this summer, the team hopes the car will reach 800 mph, establishing a new land speed record. A British team set the existing record of 766 mph in 1997. Breedlove set his first record, 407 mph, in 1963.

"If you shot a gun at the car, the bullet wouldn't catch it. The car would outrun it," says Serrano.

Serrano, who has idolized Breedlove since his childhood, joined the team in 1999. He initially contacted Breedlove about developing an educational website teachers could use to create lesson plans around the Spirit of America project. Serrano got his website(www.spiritofamericaedu.org) and Breedlove invited him to join the team.

The next year Serrano spent six months in Rio Vistas, California, working on the car's electrical system and handling the team's Web communications. The car even features the Maine West High School logo. Serrano travels to the project site about twice a year now and provides additional support via the Internet.

"When I was in high school in auto classes I used to read about [Breedlove], so it was a thrill when he asked me to come out and help them make history," Serrano says. "What I love about the project is it's a group of 12 of us and you do anything that needs to be done. It is 100 percent commitment from the team.

"I tell my students, when I sat in those desks reading a hot rod magazine about this car, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be working on this project."

--Kristen Loschert

Cuddle Up

What parent doesn't wax nostalgic about the bliss of cuddling a newborn infant? Let's face it, only the sweet murmur of a sleeping baby gets you through the night feedings and foul-smelling diaper deposits. NEA-Retired Arizona member John Campbell isn't a new dad, but he's head-over-heels in love with his volunteer assignment as a "cuddler" of premature infants born at the Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center in Glendale.

"It's heaven," says Campbell, now in his third year as president of the Arizona Education Association-Retired. "The cuddlers, the nurses, and the babies all benefit from the program."

Under the supervision of a developmental nurse specialist, the volunteers cuddle newborns who are premature or face other issues, such as absent parents or a drug addiction.

"The human touch and the rocking is very beneficial to the babies," Campbell says. "They're often cranky, and when you rock them, that quiets them right down." Campbell is a volunteer cuddler once a week for four hours, also volunteering at an information desk at the hospital another four hours per week.

After being trained, Campbell's first assignment was to cuddle Brandon, who was born three months premature and weighed just two pounds. "I had a thought that maybe I can't do this," he confesses. But Brandon gradually made strides and was ready to go home when he reached four-and-a-half pounds.

Campbell says he also leaves the hospital feeling better. "I've had two heart attacks, and when I'm quietly cuddling a child it brings my blood pressure down and I'm much calmer. I told one of the nurses that maybe [cuddling] should be part of heart attack rehabilitation!"

--John O'Neil