Board Member's Dedication, Passion Remembered

Mary Ann Maimone was a member of the Thomas Nelson Community College Board for just three years, from July 2018 until her death July 31, 2021. However, that was more than enough time for fellow board members to notice her dedication to education in general and the College in particular.

"She was very passionate about serving for the College. She was passionate about the mission and vision of the institution," said Dr. Vince Warren, chair of the College Board. "You could always tell that, whether she was commenting on something in a board meeting or contributing to a conversation about the direction we were headed."

Dr. Joyce Jarrett, the vice chair who, along with Maimone, represented the City of Williamsburg, said Maimone's first concerns were with the students.

"I found her to really care about the students and [that] forced us as board members to see situations through the eyes of those students who were less fortunate," Jarrett said.

Jarrett and Maimone did not know each other before becoming board members. However, they knew of each other. Jarrett's husband and Maimone served on the Williamsburg-James City County School Board together. Jarrett said Maimone was big on doing her homework.

"She wanted to know what we had done prior to her coming on the board," Jarrett said. "It was important to her to make a difference. She did not want to just be a member around that table. She wanted to be a voice for the students, and she wanted to learn as much about the needs of the institution, the challenges of the institution so that she could bring her skills to help the institution realize what it needed to accomplish. I was impressed with that. She just simply wanted to do the very best that she could."

For Izabela Cieszynski, a College Board member who represents Newport News, Maimone's dedication stood out.

"The one thing that always impressed me was regardless of whether she could physically be at the meeting, she would BE at the meeting," Cieszynski said. "There were times when she sat in her car on her phone, but she was calling in and she was at the meeting."

Maimone wasn't afraid to voice her opinions, even on tough subjects.

"She was somebody who looked for common ground when discussions were being had about some of the tougher things we had to talk about," Warren said. "I think she was very forthright in her opinion yet very respectful."

He added she listened to other board members in order to get another perspective. Sometimes she changed her opinion, and sometimes she persuaded others to change theirs.

"If she felt strongly about something, she would articulate that very well," he said. "I always considered her to be very respectful."

Cieszynski agreed.

"She would never hesitate to bring up a different perspective so that we were sure we were trying to see the whole picture," Cieszynski said. "Her strength as a board member was her willingness to speak up."

For Maimone, who was 61 at the time of her death, education was a lifelong passion. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from Kent State, and a master's in education from Miami of Ohio. She became a high school counselor, then worked in admissions at the College of William & Mary, and in the Williamsburg-James City County Schools system. She also was a substitute teacher, and PTA leader. She and her husband, Charles, had one son and three daughters.

"I think what the College will end up missing most about her is, or was, her dedication to education and making it as accessible as possible," Cieszynski said.

Said Warren: "She was a staunch supporter of the institution, of the leadership of the institution, of the faculty and staff of the institution. … That's what I think the school is going to miss."

It seems only fitting then that, in her obituary, her family requested in lieu of flowers people make a donation in her name to the Thomas Nelson Community College Part Way Home Scholarship fund: https://vpcc.edu/foundation/alumni/donate.html.