SAGLE — Dawna May was celebrating her birthday when her phone buzzed with a text message from Lake Pend Oreille School District’s Child Nutrition director, Bobbie Coleman.

While typically a text after work from a supervisor is never good news, this message was different. Coleman was letting May know she had been selected as the Idaho School Nutrition Association Kitchen Manager of the Year 2026. 

“It was overwhelming. I had a lot of emotions, crying, shaking and couldn't wait to tell somebody,” May said.  

After telling her husband and family, the emotions settled in for May, who has been serving nutritional food to the LPOSD community for over 20 years. 

“It's a very honorable award, [it] makes me feel very proud. I get a little emotional,” May said, fighting back tears of joy. “It just gives you that feeling that you're appreciated. Bobbie just says the kindest words to me, about me and it was very, very, very exciting.” 

Alongside fellow child nutrition manager Kelly Karr, May serves multiple meals a day to students of Sagle Elementary while delivering what Coleman calls “quiet miracles.” Whether it be balancing students with dietary needs or switching meals around when deliveries are late, the students depend on the food staff to get the job done come mealtime. 

“Some days can be a little bit more hectic than others, but overall, you're on a schedule, so you come in, and you just have to get it done,” May said. “That's just the way it is. It's whatever it takes to get there, and we always do.” 

Coleman said serving the students isn’t the only task left to the kitchen managers, who work tirelessly to create a healthy and fun environment in the cafeteria. May and Karr have been known to decorate the cafeteria for different holidays and events to make it an exciting place for kids to spend their time. 

Karr said seeing the children get excited for those days feeds their joy and helps them get into the spirit.  

“It's tough work, but the kids make it easy,” Coleman said. "The kids are why we're here. That is why we're here now, and so who doesn't have fun when they're around?” 

May’s achievement is the third ISNA award that LPOSD has won in the last three years. Coleman took home Idaho SNA Director of the Year in 2025, while Sandpoint High School’s Angela Laude won Idaho SNA Kitchen Manager of the Year and SNA Western Region Kitchen Manager of the Year in 2024. 

For Coleman, who oversees the district’s nutrition program, the awards are a prestigious honor that speaks to their way of serving students. 

“It's quite an honor, and something that I think that's unheard of in any other district in the nation to have three consecutive wins,” Coleman said. “We've put a lot of effort into teamwork, meeting regularly, asking each other's opinions, bouncing ideas off each other... the child nutrition staff genuinely just care about students, and that makes a really big difference.” 

May will be traveling down to Idaho Falls with Coleman and Laude to accept her award at the ISNA Conference in June. 

“I’ll probably cry again,” May said with a laugh.