Lyman Graham to be awarded Director of the Year at the “A Possible Dream” Gala

The 2011 SNA Director of the Year is Lyman Graham, Director, Roswell Independent School District, Carlsbad Municipal Schools and Dexter Consolidated Schools, New Mexico. With 20 years of experience as a school nutrition director, Graham oversees three school districts with a combined 38 schools and 16,500 students in rural New Mexico. Graham’s efforts to improve food quality, add salad bars and implement breakfast in the classroom programs helped him raise student participation in one of his district’s school meal programs from 35% to 95%; in another, he grew participation from 15% to 97%. Graham has also added after-school snack and summer feeding programs to his districts, providing students with access to high quality, low cost food all year. Graham’s efforts to promote school nutrition programs expand beyond the districts he operates. Recognizing his success in developing breakfast in the classroom programs, state administrators asked Graham to conduct presentations on the program to districts across the state. Graham has served as President of the New Mexico School Nutrition Association and has sat on a number of SNA committees, including the Public Policy and Legislative Committee and the Professional Standards Taskforce. Graham most recently served on a National Academy of Sciences Panel on a potential Provision 4 income eligibility category.

Graham will be awarded as the 2011 SNA Director of the Year at the Global Child Nutrition Foundation’s “A Possible Dream” Gala on Monday, March 5, 2012 at the Ronal Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

For more on the Gala, please visit: http://www.gcnf.org/events/a-possible-dream-gala/