The 14th annual Catholic Schools/Business Partnerships awards banquet, organized by the Catholic Business Network of Northern Virginia (CBN-NV), experienced a couple of “firsts” last Sunday night.

It was the first banquet for Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sister Bernadette McManigal, newly appointed superintendent of schools for the Arlington Diocese. She called the event “a grand celebration” and thanked all the teachers, principals and pastors who have contributed to the “strong” success of the diocesan school system.

She also thanked Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde for all his support, and said it was not a difficult decision to say “yes” when the bishop asked her to accept the superintendent’s job on a full-time basis.

“I’m proud to be the superintendent of this system,” she said.

For the first time in the banquet’s history, one individual was nominated by more than one school. Frederick Duca of the Manus Dei Company was nominated by four different schools for helping them upgrade their computer systems and technology.

Bishop Loverde said he was proud of the work being done by CBN-NV and thanked its members for being “such strong defenders of the Faith.”

He congratulated all the volunteers who were honored at the banquet and reflected on the fact that he is a “100 percent product of Catholic education,” having attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through the seminary.

“My whole life has been formed through Catholic education,” he said.

He then recalled a conversation he had earlier in the day with a member of the Knights of Columbus who told him that “success” can be defined as “getting to heaven.”

“Our ultimate success is that we’re with Jesus in heaven,” said the bishop. “Catholic education is the key to this ultimate success, the one that really matters — the achievement of heaven.

“The apostolic work being done by teachers and principals at Catholic schools is far more than a career,” Bishop Loverde said. “May the Lord bless all our efforts to foster and facilitate our success.”

Four teachers were named Distinguished Teachers of the Year by the CBN-NV. Nominations were submitted by principals, colleagues, parents and current or former students. Each teacher received $1,000 and each school received $500.

The winners were: elementary school teacher Marilynn Zook from St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton; middle school teacher Anna Blaszkow from St. Mary School in Alexandria; high school teacher Lonnell Battle from Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax; and special needs teacher Melissa Manaker from St. Rita School in Alexandria.

“The heartbeat of any school is the classroom teacher,” said Sister Bernadette, who added that the diocese is blessed to have so many talented and dedicated teachers in its 45 schools.

“Our colleagues who have been recognized this year for the Teacher of the Year Award are excellent representatives of the superior teaching that occurs every day in our Catholic schools,” she said.

Four diocesan high school students received $1,000 scholarships from the CBN-NV. The selections were based on scholastic achievement, community service and leadership. The winners were: Brian McGinty from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria; Claire Steindam from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington; Stephanie Davis from Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax; and Kelly Donovan from John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries.

Award winners

More than 100 individuals and businesses were nominated and recognized by diocesan Catholic schools. Several nominees were selected as “grand prize winners” by CBN-NV officials. They included:

Businesses

Kimberly’s Corporate Catering, Mike and Kim Lawlor, St. Luke School, McLean

Outback Steakhouse, Keith Kirkland, St. Ambrose School, Annandale

Organizations

Knights of Columbus, John Paul I Council No. 7165, John Paul the Great Catholic High School, Dumfries

Out of Time Teachers, David Reeves and Susan Williams, Epiphany School, Culpeper

Individuals

William Readdy, St. Charles Borromeo School, Arlington

Frederick Duca, St. Ambrose School, All Saints School, St. John the Evangelist School and Holy Spirit School

Kevin and Carol Rice, All Saints School, Manassas

Kathy Pechauer, Linton Hall School, Bristow

Everett Hellmuth, Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria

Cliff Gonzales, Holy Family School, Dale City

Tom Shoop, Corpus Christi School, Falls Church

Trudi Boyd, St. Mary School, Alexandria

Linda Montavon, St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School, Woodbridge

Joseph Gargiulo, Bishop O’Connell High School, Arlington

John and Eileen Lau, St. Joseph School, Herndon