Longtime Evansville educator Sheila Huff honored Wednesday as inspirational leader

EVANSVILLE — Longtime local educator Sheila Huff was honored Wednesday afternoon as an inspirational leader during the annual YWCA Evansville Women's Equality Day luncheon.

The event was at Old National Events Plaza and featured Karsonya Wise Whitehead as the keynote speaker. Whitehead is the founding executive director of The Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice. Whitehead teaches Communication and African and African-American Studies at Loyola University Maryland.

YWCA Evansville hosts the luncheon in connection with Stepping Up Evansville, which presents the Women Stepping Up Inspirational Leader award, and the Women Stepping Up Legacy Leader award.

Huff was honored as the inspirational leader, and Sadelle Berger was awarded the legacy honor. Berger was the first woman president of Temple Adath B’nai Israel in Evansville.

Huff an 'extraordinary educator'

Huff taught and coached at Bosse High School for 22 years before she moved into administrative roles in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.

In a 1976 Courier & Press article focused on a Huff as a new teacher, fellow educator Marilyn King said they were glad to have her.

"Sheila has taken hold so well that she's only asked two questions since she started," King said. "And I think those were just out of politeness."

In 1988, Huff became assistant principal at Glenwood Middle School and in 2000 took over as principal. In March 2008, she earned the Outstanding Educator Administrator of the Year award.

A few months later, she would be named the new principal at Bosse, a school she was plenty familiar with. Then-EVSC superintendent Vince Bertram told the Courier & Press that Huff was an "extraordinary educator who cares deeply about the success of her students."

Huff was able to end her time at the helm of Bosse doing something not many principals can: Passing the torch to her own son, Aaron.

Huff retired from the EVSC as the director of strategic engagement after 47 years in various roles with the corporation.

"I have been given many, many blessings and the most important was being able to spend 47 years in charge of someone else's child," she said. "Instilling in them what it really means to work hard, to not expect anything without hard work."

Wednesday, Huff shared some of the wisdom she shared with both sons, Aaron and Andrew.

"If we don't have the courage and conviction, to stand up when we see inequality, indifference," she said. "Then who will?"

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Longtime Evansville educator Sheila Huff honored Wednesday as inspirational leader