CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Board of Education took time Thursday to recognize the efforts and leadership of former board member Tracy White.

Tracy White

Tracy White spent seven years serving on the board and stepped down in September due to personal reasons. The board voted Michael Arbogast

“It wasn’t a decision that I made in haste, and it wasn’t a decision that I made lightly. I was a decision I needed to make for myself and my family,” White said.

“I still cry when I think about it. I don’t want there to ever be a time when thinking about stepping down doesn’t make me sad because that seat really meant a lot to me,” she said while holding back tears.

White says he current situation no longer allowed for her to be the board member she wanted to be.

“I made a promise when I ran that I would be approachable, I would be visible, and I would be out and about. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be the board member that I promised folks that I would be when I asked for their vote,” she said.

During her time on the board, White advocated for many students, but specifically stood up for the children with special needs in the county.

While White was being honored Thursday, board president Ric Cavender spoke about his former colleague and presented her with a plaque. He says White always fought for the kids of Kanawha County and she will continue to do so.

“She has always stood up for the kids, stood up for the system, and you probably don’t even hear her talk a lot about it. She just does it. And I would say even though she’s not a board member anymore, she’s still doing it,” said Cavender.

During his speech, Cavender remembered a time when White told him she wanted to run for an open seat on the board over seven years ago. He said it was clear that White was in it for the right reasons.

“The only thing we discussed was the reason she wanted to run and that was for the kids, it was for the teachers, it was for the special education community, and that’s one of the many reasons Mrs. Tracy White was one of the most special board members we ever had here at Kanawha County Schools,” he said.

“Regardless of if she sits in that seat or not, I know she’s still advocating every day in one way or another for this system, people in this county, for every special education student and every student. I know she is in one way or another, ” he continued.

Before White finished addressing the room, she gave one piece of knowledge for anyone wanting to be a board member in the future.

“The only advice I can give to candidates is that it’s not about money, it’s about your heart,” she said. “Tracy White grew up in a trailer park in Sissonville and I have not been ashamed of that one day. I didn’t have a dollar to my name.”

“Put your heart and soul into it and be honest with those folks out there. If you’re true, then they’ll believe in you,” she said.