Former First Selectman Pat Llodra was recently honored by the Connecticut Association of Schools and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CAS-CIAC) as one of ten inducted into the organization’s Hall of Honor.

According to CAS-CIAC, the ten inductees — Jerry Auclair, Bill Baron, Alan Bookman, John Daly, Jean Kenney Daly, Bob Ford, George Ford, Paul Hoey, Mrs Llodra, and Barbara Startup — were selected for their exceptional service for the organization. There have been 32 individuals selected for the Hall of Honor, according to CAS-CIAC.

For former Newtown High School Athletic Director Gregg Simon, now the associate executive director of CAS-CIAC, the evening event at the Aqua Turf Club, Plantsville, on April 11, was an opportunity to celebrate Mrs Llodra’s efforts in the education field.

Mr Simon reflected that the evening was “just a wonderful opportunity to honor the people who have given so much to CAS-CIAC over their careers.”

“There is virtually no position or achievement in education [Mrs Llodra] has not earned during her distinguished career,” a news release from CAS-CIAC reads. “During a 12-year tenure as principal of Northwestern Regional School, she served on multiple CAS-CIAC committees, including a time as chair of the Board of Control and was voted High School Principal of the Year in 2002. She twice was honored with a CAS Citation and spent three years as CAS Assistant Executive Director.”

Videos profiling each of the inductees were played during the evening. A number of people spoke in the video created for Mrs Llodra. The videos are also posted to CAS-CIAC’s website, ciacsports.com.

The video introduced Mrs Llodra as “a tireless champion for public schools and education, [she] enjoyed a decorated career as a school and community leader while giving immense benefit to CAS-CIAC,” the narrator says. “As an organization director, she helped launch a new endeavor, which came after her well-lauded efforts on behalf of the organization.”

Newtown Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold says in the video that Mrs Llodra is a strong and thoughtful leader who always considers what is best for “the most people.”

“[Mrs Llodra] always put community first. [Mrs Llodra] always thought about what would serve a community best,” Ms Mangold says in the video.

Mr Simon also speaks in the video, and he shares that he enjoyed working with Mrs Llodra.

“There’s not a person on this planet that I have more respect for than [Mrs] Llodra,” says Mr Simon.

Kelley Johnson, a former student, former NHS athlete, a Legislative Council member, and the daughter of the late Ruby Johnson — with whom Mrs Llodra worked closely — also speaks in the video. “Way back in the ‘80s,” Ms Johnson says, she was part of a group that wanted a girls soccer team at NHS. Mrs Llodra helped make the team a reality.

“I think she would be proud to know how many lives that she touched,” says Ms Johnson.

When others took a step back from community positions, Mrs Llodra took a step forward, Ms Johnson shares.

Mrs Llodra also spoke after the April 11 event about the effort to start a girls soccer team at NHS and find equity for girls athletic programs, sharing that she and Ruby Johnson worked together on the effort.

“It was hard work to get it done, get the coaches, get the money, get the players, get the field time,” Mrs Llodra said.

Ms Mangold and Mrs Llodra have also worked together to support equity in sports opportunities, according to Mrs Llodra. Watching the videos, surrounded by colleagues she has worked with for years and loved ones, was moving, she shared. Being honored by CAS-CIAC was meaningful, and she added, “I was very touched by it.”

“It was terrific. I was teary a lot of time,” Mrs Llodra said.

Mrs Llodra said she first learned she would be inducted into the Hall of Honor in February, when Mr Simon called her with the news.

“I was very surprised and taken aback, but very happy and pleased to be recognized,” Mrs Llodra recalled.

When Mrs Llodra served as interim principal at NHS from 2004 to 2005, she worked closely with Mr Simon. To be able to celebrate Mrs Llodra with the CAS-CIAC was “just a well-deserved honor,” Mr Simon said.

Mrs Llodra says she values CAS-CIAC and thanks the group in the video for “thinking that I am worthy.”

More information about the Hall of Honor can be found at ciacsports.com/hallofhonor.