THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080174
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
CITY RESIDENTS TOOK time out Tuesday to thank Superintendent Beverly B. Cox III for being a focused leader, a good listener, a friend.
Cox, 53, will retire at the end of this month. The School Board recently named Assistant Superintendent Joyce H. Trump as his successor.
Tuesday's Lakeland High School reception attracted dozens of district employees, School Board members, community leaders and parents. Rain poured outside. But inside, well-wishers - and Cox himself - beamed.
Susan Phillips, a music teacher at Elephant's Fork Elementary, recalled the way Cox always had a smile and a kind word for staffers whenever he visited the school.
``He's just a friendly, warm person,'' she said.
James Dabney, a physical education and driver education teacher at Lakeland, agreed.
``He was always fair and friendly with the teachers,'' Dabney said. ``I think he knew a lot of teachers by their first names.''
Cox spent 10 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in Danville before Suffolk hired him in 1978.
He's served as the district's intermediate and secondary education coordinator, assistant superintendent for instruction and personnel and acting superintendent. In December 1991, the board hired him to replace former superintendent C. Lindsey Suggs.
During his tenure, Cox sought to beef up school technology and security, provide teachers and other staff members with more training and increase investments in capital improvements. He also pressed principals and teachers to come up with annual plans to get more students off the bottom rung in achievement on standardized tests.
Last school year, he began a series of ``open-door nights'' - a time when citizens can stop by his office after hours to discuss concerns. In February, Cox told the board that health concerns were behind his decision.
``I have very mixed emotions because I love my work and I love the school system,'' Cox said in an interview a day after he informed the board of his plan to retire. ``It's hard. . . but I know I need the rest.'' He underwent double-bypass heart surgery in December 1992.
Trump will take over as schools chief on July 1. She will be Suffolk's first female superintendent. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
At the reception at Lakeland High School, Beverly Cox III talks with
Marcie Mitchell, a parent with two children in the school system.
Jackie Marshall, coordinator of instruction, hugs Cox.
Cox said he needs a rest after bypass heart surgery.
by CNB