For 18 years, Principal Pete Peterson of Bryce Valley Elementary has been taking rural kids to Washington, DC.
The trip began when he was principal in Panaca, Nevada, a small town of about 1,000. When Pete and his wife, Beverly Roe, who is from Panguitch, arrived in Bryce Valley four years ago, Pete was eager to continue the tradition of taking students to DC.
In 2021, the principal took his first group of BVE students, and the community quickly hopped on board. Bake sales and window washing turned into coordinated fundraising efforts, and generous donations from local businesses and county commissioners got the 6th graders to Washington. Last year, the group tripled in size taking in neighboring Escalante and Panguitch elementary schools also in Garfield School District.
Pete didn’t need any attention for doing the trip, always saying he just did it for the kids. And he did. But it wasn’t long before others started to take notice. On December 6, about half way through this year’s DC trip, Representative Celeste Maloy did take notice.
After giving Pete and a small group of other adults a rare tour of the Capitol dome, Maloy presented the principal with a certificate of congressional recognition for his extraordinary commitment to education and 18 years connecting rural students to Washington, DC.
“And that’s not a small thing,” said Maloy after presenting Pete Peterson with the congressional award. “I grew up in a really small town. I never got to come to Washington, DC. I didn’t know who my congressman was. I’d never seen the Capitol. So the fact that you’re all here every year is a really, really big deal.”
Unfortunately, Pete and his wife will be leaving Bryce Valley after this school year to return to their home in Panaca. But Pete is optimistic that the DC trip will live on past his departure.
In addition to the DC trip, Pete has brought theater to both the elementary and the high school, and was part of creating an annual district spelling bee for the elementary schools. Indeed, Pete’s impact is summarized well by the words “commitment to education.”
Pete felt that many in the community, who donate so generously for the good of others, deserved just as much recognition. These included but were not limited to Ruby’s Inn and Kaycee and Tyson Brinkerhoff at the Pizza Place.
Just like for so many in our area, for Pete, “it is all about the community in which we live.”
– by Abbie Call
Feature image caption: Principal Pete Peterson shows his newly received congressional award as Representative Celeste Maloy stands by.
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].