City and CMSD host fish fry to thank teachers

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It was raining purple and gold in Columbus and it wasn’t just for homecoming night at the football game.

Superintendent Dr. Cherie Labat along with Columbus Mayor Robert Smith teamed up to put on a fish fry.

The reason, to celebrate and thank the teachers, faculty and staff in the Columbus Municipal School District.

There over 500 employees in the district.

Dr. Labat asked the mayor about doing something to get everyone out and show their appreciation for everyone’s hard work within the district.

“Sometimes they’re undervalued, not appreciated and I think the great thing at working with the mayor, he’s been a principal and been in the shoes of a lot of our employees, so the collaboration was great,” said Dr. Labat.

Mayor Robert Smith says he hopes to make this an annual event.

“You can’t do this enough. I mean, this is the first since I’ve been mayor, and I’ve been mayor since 2006, that the city and the school district decided to partnership and do something of this magnitude,” said Mayor Smith.

Smith also wants to thank the First United Methodist Church for cooking the fish.

Several city officials and school board members helped serve the dinner plates.