HERMITAGE, PA. Son continues family's strong attendance legacy

The belief is that good attendance makes good students.
By JOHN SKENDALL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Is there a gene for dedication? If so, it has certainly been passed on through the Follmeyer family of Hermitage.
James and Charlotte Follmeyer have four kids, each of whom have had their share of sickness but still had nearly perfect attendance records in their school careers.
Their youngest, Jason, graduated from Hickory High School this June after 11 consecutive years of perfect attendance. If not for pneumonia when he was in kindergarten and chickenpox in first grade, Jason said he would never have missed a day of school -- ever.
Jason comes from a long line of high school graduates with impressive attendance records. His brother Jim, the oldest, went all 13 years without missing a day of school. His older sister, Janet, went 12 straight years, and the oldest sister, Joan, made it 10 consecutive years, after a three-year battle with leukemia.
Joan "recovered and never looked back," Jason said.
She attended Villa Maria Academy in Erie and works at the Community Counseling Center in Hermitage.
Following their lead
Genetic or not, always showing up for a day's work is a trait in Jason's parents. It was his mother who encouraged him to maintain his record, and his father set the example in his own life. He has worked 15 years at C.C.L. Container in Hermitage without missing a day.
The family does not rely on good luck or perfect health to make them clock in morning after morning.
"Last year, I had a severely sprained ankle from pole-vaulting that kept me out of track for the rest of the season," Jason said. "This year I stepped on glass and had many stitches to close the wound on my heel."
But he kept on going to school.
Jason said some of his peers take off a week or more for winter vacations. Others skip a day when there is a big test that they haven't studied for.
Jason said he always had to have his homework done and his tests studied for ahead.
"Not missing school has its benefits," Jason said. "It helped me become a better student."
His major sacrifice was not taking permitted absences for college visits and not taking part in skip day, organized informally by students.
Jason graduated in the top 10 percent of his class and won several athletic and academic awards. He was involved in track, soccer and band. He works at C.C.L. Container and will attend Penn State Shenango campus in the fall.