By Martha B. Jacob –
Following the 10th Annual Academic Hall of Fame Induction ceremony held at Western Brown High School on May 10, Superintendent Reagan White graciously invited Eva Lanter, executive secretary of Western Brown School District, to join him at the podium. It was obvious to everyone in the crowd that she was taken aback and surprised.
After saying a few words about Lanter, the superintendent announced that the board offices would officially be renamed the Eva M. Lanter Administration building.
“For anyone who doesn’t know already,” White began, “This is Eva Lanter, our district secretary and she is one of the driving forces behind making this Hall of Fame event a success. She does a ton of leg-work not only for this Hall of Fame but for our district.
“I want to share a little bit about Eva. This year marks her 60th year with the Western Brown School District. She graduated from Ripley High School in 1952, and in 1953 she married her husband Larry Lanter and they were married for 62 years until his passing in 2013.”
White went on to say the couple had two children, David and Susan, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He said that on September 1, 1958 she began her career as secretary for the Mt. Orab School District.
“Later, Eva went onto night school and graduated from the University of Cincinnati after attending night school for 12 years, to get her teaching degree.” White said with a smile.
“As the times changed and education evolved, so did Eva. She was the district federal program coordinator during the 70’s and she was the EMUS coordinator in the 90’s and she also taught word processing at the high school during the 80’s and 90’s.
“She was even the high school advisor for student council at one time. And she taught for 18 years while maintaining her position at the district office.”
“Eva has seen it all through the years, she was here when the district consolidated, she’s been through building programs, she’s survived 9 different superintendents, and two interim superintendents.”
Superintendent White called Eva Lanter the mainstay at the school and he looks forward to working with her for years to come.
“As much as Eva has done for this district, we felt like it would only be appropriate to thank her and honor her for her tremendous career here at Western Brown Schools,” White said, “It doesn’t get any more Western Brown than Eva Lanter.
“The school board members all agree with that and to commemorate her years of dedication to the district, the current Western Brown Board Office will be housed at the newly named the Eva M. Lanter Administration Building.”
An emotional Ms. Lanter received a rousing round of applause from everyone in attendance, and a hug from Mr. White.