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Jana Teacher Honored by Hazelwood Mayor, Council
Melissa Lindner has put on the winter fine arts performance at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District for 19 years and each show has been special, but this year, her final performance may have been the most special of them all.
Linder received a proclamation from the Mayor of Hazelwood, T.R. Carr, and Third Ward Councilman Terry Salfen, congratulating and honoring her for her 20 years of service to the
school.
“I was really thrilled and it was a total surprise. I was honored that they thought of me,” she said.
Her husband, Michael, the school’s instructional specialist, met Carr and Salfen at the school’s main entrance, along with Principal Marty Pfeiffer and teacher assistant Nancy Salfen. In the gym, Carr announced the honor at the beginning of the school’s winter performance, “Celebrate with Joy!”
The Lindners have been almost life-long residents of North County. They resided in Spanish Lake for many years and currently live in Hazelwood. Melissa Lindner will retire at the end of this school year.
“A couple of kids did congratulate me on my honor after the concert, which was very sweet,” she added.
Lindner’s distinguished vocal performance career includes auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera on a district level and then competing at Regionals in Chicago. She also won the prestigious Pressor Award, an honor presented by a publishing company and bestowed on individuals who were the highest achieving musicians at college level.
Her other accomplishments include performing with Opera Theatre of St. Louis in “Madame Butterfly” and playing the role of Mrs. Anna Smith in SIUE’s Summer Show Biz production of “Meet Me In St. Louis.” Moreover, she’s been serving as choir director of the Bellefontaine United Methodist Church for five years.
“We’re fortunate to have such a talented person living in the City of Hazelwood. She has done a great job bringing the joy of musical performance to the students of Jana Elementary School,” said T. R. Carr, Mayor of the City of Hazelwood. “We’re grateful for her dedication and many years of service to the Hazelwood School District.”
After being a florist for 13 years, Lindner decided to go back to college and finish getting her degree at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, (SIUE). In 1990, she graduated from SIUE and started working at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District as a music teacher.
