Award of Distinction

Eatonville High School Award of Distinction 2024

The Eatonville High School Award of Distinction Committee has announced the winners of this year’s award. They are Paulette Gilliardi and Jessica (Erickson) Kerr. They will receive their awards on August 27 at a teacher welcome-back meeting. Also being honored for their ultimate sacrifice and service are nine Eatonville graduates who died defending their nation during World War II. Their names are John Ward, Irvin Fry, James Battle, Rudolph Jugo, Gordon Wordon, John Davie,
Charles Biggs, Raymond Lockhart, and Edwin Norberg. Family and friends are invited to attend the presentation which begins at 7:30 in the morning in the high school auditorium in North Hall.

The Award of Distinction was created at about the same as the Athletic Hall of Fame Award in 2010 under the guidance of biology teacher James Clague. The motivation for the award was to honor Eatonville High School graduates who had achieved significant success in areas such as business, academics, service, the arts, or philanthropy. It was to honor those individuals for their achievements but also to inspire current students in their quest for success.

The award went dormant after the retirement of Mr. Clague in 2016 but was revived through the efforts of Rich and Ruthie Williams and their committee of faculty and community members this year. The award winners were selected by a committee comprised of staff and community members from applications submitted this year. Applications not selected this year will remain under consideration in future years along with applications from the next year. (Nomination forms are
available on the district website and nominations are encouraged from the public.)

Paulette Gilliardi
Jessica Kerr

Paulette Gilliardi

Although she is a successful partner in a thriving business, Gilliardi Logging, Paulette’s award is based on her record of service to the Eatonville community and schools for over 50 years.

As a young mother Paulette wanted to be involved in the education of her children so she joined the Columbia Crest PTA. She was soon serving as a room mother for all of her four children. She became well known for her creative and themed class parties. Soon she was elected PTA president where she served three terms and was honored with the prestigious “Golden Acorn” award for her service.

Paulette continued her support of education by volunteering to chaperone field trips and organizing auctions to raise money for schools. She also began coming to school daily to support middle school math students. She had studied the curriculum and was present to support teachers and students who were struggling. She also used her secretarial skills to assist reading programs because in the 70s such programs were manual and labor intensive.

Paulette loved schools and she loved sports. She volunteered as a scorekeeper in numerous sports. She logged over 20 years of scorekeeping in three different sports at Eatonville High School. She would also run the clock and ride the team bus if assistance was needed. Volleyball officials were needed so she took the class to become a certified official. Her daughter was involved with cheerleading so she became the principal poster maker for the schools. She was honored by the Washington Athletic Directors Association for her contributions.

The school district needed community involvement so Paulette served on committees to pass bonds and levies, design facilities and approve curriculum. She also served on a state committee to represent small school districts like Eatonville.

Paulette was also involved with community activities such as the Daffodil Festival. She was a Daffodil Festival Chaperone for two years and Daffodil Royalty Queen Mother for three years. (She logged nearly 12,000 miles transporting the queen to the various events that the queen was expected to attend.) She also served as a chaperone for the Eatonville High School senior trip seven times.

Paulette is also a woman of faith. She participated as a trained study group leader for 15 years in a nationwide program called Bible Study Fellowship. She also worked with a ministry for the homeless for eight years. Currently she serves on the board of Family Promise of Pierce County where she helps find housing security for homeless families.

In 1990 Paulette was elected to the Eatonville School Board where she served until 1998. In 2008 she was encouraged to apply for a vacancy on the board. She won the appointment and was then elected to the position in 2009. She has held all the positions on the board and is currently the chairperson of the Eatonville School Board.

Paulette has donated countless hours to the children, teachers, and community surrounding Eatonville. She has been an advocate, a leader, and a cheerleader for this district and community. She has been an outstanding example of what selfless volunteer service means.

Jessica Kerr

Jessica Kerr has had a remarkable academic, professional and service career. She graduated from Eatonville High School in 2008 as class valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was one of three students from the Second Legislative District to be selected as a Washington Scholar in 2008. She accomplished her academic goals while making all-league teams in soccer and softball. She was a class officer her first three years and ASB president her senior year. She also participated in Business Week, Math Team, Knowledge Bowl, Drama Club, and Junior State of America. She volunteered at a homeless shelter, coached for EYSA, coordinated a high school blood drive, and volunteered for numerous other organizations.

Jessica continued her education at the University of Puget Sound where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2012 with a GPA of 3.99 and a double-major in Communication Studies and Politics and Government. During her career at UPS Jessica was a presenter at numerous conventions while also conducting research projects. She was a member of several honor societies including Phi Beta Kappa. She served as a peer advisor for incoming freshmen and later was a coordinator for peer advising. She also worked as a course assistant. Once again she volunteered for various organizations including the blood drive, homeless connect, campfire, and Franciscan Health. She also held various jobs during her spare time.

In 2012 Jessica was admitted to the University of Washington School of Law where she would go on to earn her Juris Doctor degree with High Honors. She would graduate first in her class (out of 189) with a 3.94 GPA. She won numerous awards and scholarships and placed very highly in numerous legal competitions both locally and nationally. She was once again active as a volunteer for numerous legal organizations. She also worked as a research assistant and helped students to learn the art of writing legal documents.

Following graduation, Jessica worked as a legal clerk for Washington State Supreme court Justice Mary Fairhurst. In 2014 she became a summer associate at a Seattle law firm. In 2016 she became a full associate and in 2023 became a principal attorney. She also began to work for the University of Washington and became an Affiliate Instructor in 2024. She has continued with her voluntary legal work with the University of Washington and various other legal organizations. She has won several awards for her work including being named a “Rising Star” by Washington Super Lawyers (2018-2024).

Having taught Jessica in high school, the teachers at Eatonville High School recognized that with her energy, discipline, and intelligence she would be very successful in life but she has certainly surpassed any expectations that they had.

This is actually a very abbreviated summary of her accomplishments. A truly outstanding winner of the Award of Distinction!