{"id":176606,"date":"2023-12-21T14:58:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T19:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=176606"},"modified":"2024-01-10T15:10:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T20:10:44","slug":"honoring-mclean-high-school-advisor-mark-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson","title":{"rendered":"Honoring McLean High School Advisor, Mark Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”176607″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Mark Thompson, the advisor for the McLean High School Best Buddies chapter, was honored at Tyson\u2019s Corner Holiday Kick-Off Event and Tree Lighting Ceremony<\/a> for his outstanding charitable contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really special because we got to celebrate Mr. Thompson with the buddies to kick off the holiday season,\u201d said Best Buddies officer Ava L.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

Mark has been McLean High School Best Buddies\u2019 advisor for over a decade and has been a pillar of support and dedication to the chapter and Best Buddies\u2019 mission of inclusion in our communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am still shocked how well the surprise was pulled off,\u201d Mark said. \u201cI had absolutely no idea of what was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to be part of such an amazing organization whose simple mission is to facilitate genuine friendships,\u201d he continued. \u201cBest Buddies is a win-win situation where both buddies and peer buddies gain mutual benefit from each other, and true long-lasting friendships are born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

In his years as an advisor, McLean High School Best Buddies has been one of the top school fundraisers for the annual Friendship Walk, raising money to support inclusive programs for people with IDD in Virginia and Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

Not only does McLean High School Best Buddies excel in raising funds and awareness, but they also continue to execute incredible events for their members, fostering long and meaningful friendships. For example, Mclean has had themed match parties, paint nights during COVID lockdown, school game nights, and they even created a school bowling team (Go Team Angus!).<\/p>\n

The student leadership has excelled throughout the years, with two McLean High School Best Buddies alumni currently serving their tenure as Best Buddies Global Ambassadors, Ava B. and Atticus G.<\/p>\n

Passion and excellence come to mind when one mentions McLean High School Best Buddies and we all have Mark Thompson to thank and celebrate for leading the way for our students, parents, and the McLean High School community.<\/p>\n

\"mark[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark has led the way for students, parents, and the McLean community<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":176607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"vadc-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,505],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHonoring McLean High School Advisor, Mark Thompson - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honoring McLean High School Advisor, Mark Thompson - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark has led the way for students, parents, and the McLean community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-21T19:58:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T20:10:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/va-2024-mclean-check-3-article.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jeremiah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jeremiah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jeremiah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8dce929426db178a0f482077614820de\"},\"headline\":\"Honoring McLean High School Advisor, Mark Thompson\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-21T19:58:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-10T20:10:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\"},\"wordCount\":364,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/va-2024-mclean-check-3-article.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Capital Region\",\"Capital Region News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/honoring-mark-thompson\/\",\"name\":\"Honoring McLean High School Advisor, Mark Thompson - 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