The Woodside Elementary School PTA named Robina Riccitiello and Liz Dressel as its Citizens of the Year. The two women, touted as “tireless volunteers” for the school, were caught by surprise when their names were announced at the school’s amphitheater program that follows the annual May Day parade.
After the kindergarten royal court took its bows, Ms. Dressel and Ms. Riccitiello were presented with plaques and bouquets, while the third-graders waited in the wings to start the traditional May Pole and Sword dance.
“I had no clue — and I’m the PTA president, so you’d think I’d have had some idea,” Ms. Dressel said afterward.
Both women have been extremely active in the PTA, with Ms. Riccitiello having been a past-president. Among Ms. Riccitiello’s accomplishments were creating the parent-enrichment program and spearheading a letter-writing campaign to preserve the funding of basic-aid school districts such as Woodside. She’s currently in charge of fundraising.
Ms. Dressel co-chaired the school’s successful parcel tax measure and headed up the school bond committee. She was also a lead organizer of the $2.5 million effort to build Barkley Field and Park, which will become Woodside’s only municipal park when it opens this fall.
