The following is a list of Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools award recipients. The awards were presented on March 28, 2025, at a STREAM Symposium which included all Diocesan Catholic School faculty and staff. Awards include years of service, leadership, excellence in STREAM education, and exemplars of Catholic Education.
Legacy Award
The Legacy Award for 2025 goes to a faculty member who has been a teacher in the Diocese of Venice for 35 years: Mary (Binki) Ravazzoli of St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota.
Blue Apple Award
The Blue Apple Award will be given to teachers who have demonstrated leadership and excellence in STREAM, technology, and innovation at your school. The color blue in the Bible has been used to described by scholars as denoting the Holy Spirit and Truth or service to God, as well as the waters of new creation in the book of Genesis, and most importantly the color blue is often associated with our Blessed Mother.
Teachers receiving the 2025 Blue Apple STREAM Leadership awards were nominated by the principals of the Diocese of Venice are:
Frances Shipman, St. Catherine Catholic School; Patrick Barock, St. Catherine Catholic School; Jody Kienzler, St. Joseph Catholic School; Angie Wilson, St. Martha Catholic School; Kathleen Wilde, St. Mary Academy; Diana Eidel, Incarnation Catholic School; Christine Jakoby, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Linda Slak, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Mike O’Malley, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School; Don Freitas, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School; Alexis Thwaites, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; Thomas James, St. Andrew Catholic School; Colleen Mattfeld, St. Andrew Catholic School; Megan Schuchman, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School; Melissa Zizzo, St. Ann Catholic School; Conner McCormick, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Ryan Krause, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School; Liz Kroll, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Brenda Balance, St. John Neumann Catholic High School.
Charitas (Crystal Cross Award)
The Crystal Cross Award is the highest Diocese of Venice Department of Education award given to teachers and faculty of Diocese of Venice Catholic schools. Crystal Cross Award recipients are nominated by their peers and colleagues as exemplars in Catholic education. Crystal Cross Award recipients are considered as teachers or administrators who:
- Produce excellence in all that they do (teaching, leading, etc.)
- Radiate with care and compassion towards students and colleagues
- Treat others as brothers and sisters in Christ
- Embodies the Catholic Faith inside and outside the classroom
- Leads by example
- Spreads Truth, Beauty and Goodness to those around them
Recipients are:
Rebecca Lazo, St. Catherine Catholic School; Juli Ferguson, St. Joseph Catholic School; Dr. Carol Darling, St. Joseph Catholic School; Sister Cathy Bonfield, SSND, St. Martha Catholic School; Anne Taylor, St. Mary Academy; Lexy Kaminski, Incarnation Catholic School; Elizabeth Akers, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Jane Doiron, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School; Lory Hendericks, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; Diana Villadolid, St. Andrew Catholic School; Maria Niebuhr, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School; Elizabeth Tenbarge, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School; Aimee Thompson, St. Ann Catholic School; Cassie Graham, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Linda Fox, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Lizz Curll-Chappell, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School; Denise York, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Jeanine Francois-Gonzalez, St. John Neumann Catholic High School.
Years of Service honorees
5 years of Service:
Patricia Foti-Iglesias, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School; Matt Ittig, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School; Christine Macaluso, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; Jenna Palmer, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; Juli Duzs, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Kim Koolakian, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Bethany Gunn, St. Andrew Catholic School; Samantha Jodice, St. Andrew Catholic School; Don Freitas, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School; Jeanette Sanchez, St. Catherine Catholic School; Dixie Kreulen, St. Catherine Catholic School; Patrick Barock, St. Catherine Catholic School; Steve Cirronella, St. John Neumann Catholic High School; Ana Han, St. John Neumann Catholic High School; Donna Noonan, St. John Neumann Catholic High School; Courtney Knox, St. Joseph Catholic School; Angie Wilson, St. Martha Catholic School; Becky Boydston, St. Martha Catholic School; Victoria Young, St. Martha Catholic School.
10 years of Service:
Scott Ruane, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School; Matt Byrne, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Cassie Graham, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Ester Sevilla, St. Ann Catholic School; Barry Shuck, St. Martha Catholic School; Katie Rierson, St. Mary Academy; Catherine Powers, St. Mary Academy; Kelly Metevia, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Jennifer Crouch, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Katie Schlotterbeck, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Jim Orr, Bishop Verot Catholic High School.
15 years of Service:
Mark Latell, Bishop Verot Catholic High School, John Nolan, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Tyler Graham, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria; Kim Ogburn, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; Julie Collins, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School; Heather Caamano, St. Ann Catholic School; Christine St. Jean, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School; Sara Delapaz, St. Catherine Catholic School; Christina Grun, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School; Leslie Lambert, St. Martha Catholic School.
20 years of Service:
Vanessa Lombardo, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School; David Burns, St. John Neumann Catholic High School, Melissa James, St. Martha Catholic School; Anna Benitez, Bishop Verot Catholic High School.
25 years of Service:
Jeff Tenbarge, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School; Denise Szedelyi. St. John Neumann Catholic High School; Krys Kolbe, St. Joseph Catholic School; Mary Dakin, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Kurt Prey, Bishop Verot Catholic High School; Cameron Logan, St Martha Catholic School.
30 years of Service:
Jennifer Miller, St. Joseph Catholic School; Mary Ellen Tavernier, St. Joseph Catholic School; Sister Cathy Bonfield, SSND, St. Martha Catholic School.
School Leadership Recognition
School principals of the 2024-2025 school year:
Suzie O’Grady, Bishop Verot Catholic High School, Fort Myers; Ben Hopper, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School, Sarasota; Deacon Michael Pipitone, Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School, Venice; Amy Yager, Incarnation Catholic School, Sarasota; Dr. Marc Snyder, Donahue Academy at Ave Maria, Ave Maria; Bambi Giles, St. Andrew Catholic School, Cape Coral; Micah O’Connor, St. Ann Catholic School, Naples; Steven Cullipher, St. Catherine Catholic School, Sebring; Amy Barron, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, Port Charlotte; Maria Niebuhr, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School, Naples; John Gulley, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School, Fort Myers; Sister Patricia Roche, FMA, St. John Neumann Catholic High School, Naples; Deborah Suddarth, St. Joseph Catholic School, Bradenton; Mari Jo Hanson, St. Martha Catholic School, Sarasota; Rebecca Reynolds, St. Mary Academy, Sarasota.
