[dropcap]H[/dropcap]onoring the legacy left by the late Susie Kana will go far beyond the Barton Middle School nurses office.
Last week, the Hays CISD board of trustees approved the renaming of the campus’ track and field as Kana Field, in honor of the school’s longtime nurse who lost her courageous battle with skin cancer last summer.
Kana, who worked at Barton Middle School for 21 years, was named as Hays CISD’s inaugural Ambassador of the Year in 2013.
The Hays CISD board voted unanimously to rename the athletic complex that is home to the Kyle and Buda Relay For Life event, a cause that district officials say was “near and dear” to Kana’s heart.
Kana lost her battle with skin cancer last summer, and members of the Hays CISD community still miss her deeply and are excited to honor her memory, said BMS Principal Teri Eubank.
“As a school, we wanted to recognize Susie because she touched so many lives here at Barton, as well as across the district and the whole county ... So we thought with her being the foundation of Barton and the Relay for Life event in Kyle that actually started on our track, we decided that the ideal way to recognize her was to name our track and field in her honor.” Teri Eubank, Barton Middle School principal
Trustee-at-large Sandra Bryant added to the Board’s motion that a memorial entrance be added to the athletic complex.
Eubank said school officials are already working to have plaques made commemorating Kana, which could be placed at the two entrances to the track and field. They’re also working to make a memorial arch for the main entrance.
Although the idea hasn’t yet been brought before the school board for approval, Eubank hopes BMS can dedicate the newly named track and field to Kana as the kick off for Relay For Life in May.
She said Kana’s sons were thrilled by the board’s decision to approve the renaming of the field, and rushed to call their father Rick Kana.
“And that’s part of it, because she spent so much time up here, you know her family was a part of our school too,” Eubank said. “That it means so much to them, that makes me happy because that’s what she would want is for her family to be happy.”
