Enterprise council appoints Boykins, Newman to school board

Nominated by City Councilwoman Sonya Rich, Jennifer Boykins was selected to fill the five-year seat that will soon be vacated by Robert Doerer once his term expires.

Boykins was born and raised in Enterprise, leaving for a number of years to earn her master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of South Alabama and to further her career at the Life Management Center in Marianna, Fla. as the Children’s Day Treatment Component Director and therapist.

Immediately after her graduation in 1994, she worked as a primary therapist at Pathway, Incorporated in New Brockton before leaving for Marianna for four years. She returned to the area in 2000 to accept a position with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services in Andalusia as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and in 2010 she was promoted to Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in Dothan. During this time, she attended Birmingham Theological Seminary and earned her Master of Arts in Biblical Studies in 2016.

In 2012, Boykins started 2:20 Ministries, a ministry and mentoring service for girls and young women based out of her grandmother’s home. In addition to Bible study, they also cook, sew and paint.

“I felt a strong calling to minister to girls and teach a Biblical foundation that is counter-cultural to what they face in society on social media, Facebook, all of those things,” Boykins said. “I love serving these girls and getting to know their families.”

She added that her experiences growing up and the values she was raised with continually inspire and motivate her to give back to her community in other ways, like going forward with her nomination to the Board of Education.

“We had five children in our family, and my mom always fed other kids from around the community and church, so it just comes naturally,” she said. “Working with kids, students, young adults…you’re not only impacting them, you’re impacting their families. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve these students and Enterprise.

“Growing up here, even though I left for college, this is my home, and I want to see our students thrive and grow. I’m excited to be a part of that. God has really blessed me with being able to instill some of the values I learned as a kid from my family into other people. That, to me, is my biggest reward.”

Boykins was nominated by Rich once before, but ultimately was not selected. She said she had not given much thought to the new openings until Rich nominated her once again, but found the entire process an enjoyable one.

“I’m humbled. I appreciated the conversations I had with (the council),” Boykins said. “That was very important to me to see that they wanted to know who they were voting on and getting to know me, personally. I really enjoyed that process.”

While she’s ready to hit the ground running and attend her first meeting, there is a bit of apprehension surrounding her new role with the upcoming vacancy of the superintendent’s position the board will be responsible for filling.

“It’s a little unnerving,” Boykins said. “You’re already coming in with the pressure of knowing that’s one of the first tasks you’re faced with. All eyes are on the board at this point to select that next superintendent.”

For Dr. Joan Newman, this is what she’s most looking forward to.

Nominated by Council President Turner Townsend, Newman earned her masters and doctorate degrees in education from Auburn University and worked for over 20 years in higher education at Macon Junior College (faculty), Troy University (faculty), Enterprise State Junior College (faculty, Division Chair, Dean) and Auburn University (adjunct faculty) before spending the last 20 years with Edward Jones as a financial advisor.

She also has experience as a social worker by way of the Alabama Department of Pensions and Securities and has served in administrative capacities with the Coffee County United Way board, the E.L. Gibson Foundation and Judson College. She and her husband, Mike Newman, attend First Baptist Church.

Newman said she feels particularly qualified for this position due to her past experience in curriculum development (including ACHE representation), budget development, accreditation reporting, personnel hiring and firing and campus governance. As a social worker, she became involved in participating and negotiating through the bureaucracy of state agencies on behalf of citizens and clients.

“With years of education, and of course now financial services, it brings kind of a different dimension to administration and understanding of financial situations,” she said. “I’ve served on search committees and have had a good bit of experience through the hiring process.”

Having not attended a meeting yet in an official capacity, Newman said she can only speculate on how quickly they’ll have to jump into the hiring search, but also said she believes this will be the most important thing she contributes to over her one-year term.

“There can’t be a greater need, I think, than deciding on the best leadership for the school system,” she said. “There’s a need right now for personnel services to hire the right candidate for leadership. When you hire leadership, you’re hoping it’ll be long term, so whatever role I can play in helping determine the right leadership, I’m happy to do so.”

Newman’s appointment fills the vacancy left by former Board President Reid Clark who had to suddenly resign due to a health crisis with his son. Outside of the board room at Central Office, Clark has served as a financial advisor for Edward Jones for the last 12 years and was trained by Newman in her office. Newman said the board had it easier with Clark.

“Oh he’s way nicer than I am!” she said with a laugh. “No, we’re close friends. There’s pretty much nothing I wouldn’t do for him to help ease his load right now.”

Boykins and Newman will attend their first meeting on the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting in June.