Congratulations to dedicated team chair Ed Tray for being named the 2021 recipient of the Susan K. Nicklas Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Tray began volunteering with Middle States in the 1990s when he was a teacher at St. Stephen Regional School in Port Carbon, Pa., where he worked for 42 years. With a deep background in Catholic education, Tray has chaired more than 30 peer review visits over the past 15 years primarily for Middle States’ Catholic school members.
Over the course of his career, Tray coached multiple sports for the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and coached high school volleyball. He also served on the statewide CYO board and was a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America. 
Q. What motivated you to pursue a career in education?
A. I was inspired by my high school English teacher. He was a really good teacher and had an excellent sense of humor.
Q. When you’re not chairing team visits for Middle States what do you like to do for fun?
A. I like to read, and I like to travel. Right now, I’m reading Split Second by David Baldacci.
Q. What destinations are on your travel list?
A. I want to go back to South Dakota and Wyoming to see the wildlife. I’d like to go to the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore again. When I was younger I had a pop-up camper. I think my idea now is camping out in a nice hotel somewhere.
About the Volunteer Awards
Presented annually, the F. Laird Evans Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Susan K. Nicklas Outstanding Volunteer Award recognize dedicated volunteers who have advanced the mission of the Middle States Association to foster continuous school improvement through accreditation so all students receive the highest quality education possible.
Volunteers serve on accreditation teams that evaluate schools based on an established set of protocols and standards designed to reflect proven practices in education.
F. Laird Evans is the former president of the Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools and an ardent supporter of school accreditation. He served from from 1996 to 2010.
Nicklas served as the executive director of the Middle States Commissions on Secondary Schools from 2002 to 2005 and was a member of the staff since 1993
