Fannin Announces Teacher of the Year for 2013

At the Annual Fannin County Teacher of the Year Banquet this Tuesday, January 31st Superintendent Mark Henson announced the winner of the 2013 Teacher of the Year Award. The award, he explained, will serve as recognition for the 2012/2013 school year. Selected from the various schools in the system, the nominees were Holly Sloan from Blue Ridge Elementary, Celeaste Baugh from East Fannin Elementary, Michelle Thomas from West Fannin Elementary, Anona Hemming from Fannin County Middle School, and Rhonda Matthews from Fannin County High School.

In the high school cafeteria made elegant, Superintendent Mark Henson explained the qualifications for nominees and the winner.

“The candidate should be an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled teacher,”

he said, adding that the nominees and winner for Teacher of the Year must also inspire students and earn the respect of students, parents and colleagues. Waxing poetic, Henson quoted British Novelist Graham Greene.

“There’s always one moment in childhood when a door opens and lets in the future,”

Henson said, quoting Greene. Elaborating on Greene’s quip, the superintendent said,

“We’ve all stood on the threshold of the future…children face the future because they are the future; they are our continuance; they are our hope; children share an enormous responsibility to mankind. We’re here tonight to honor the professionals who are the keepers of the future.”

After a meal of chuck roast and roasted vegetables and songs sung by the Fannin High School Chorus, Henson presented the nominees and announced the winner of the Fannin County Teacher of the Year Award, Holly Sloan from Blue Ridge Elementary School. Sloan, a Special Education Teacher, was given a plaque, a Teacher of the Year Ring, and gift basket. In a video proceeding Sloan’s acceptance, Blue Ridge Elementary Principal Shannon Miller lauded Sloan for her work.

“She is a very intelligent teacher,” Miller said, “who knows her craft.”

Miller added that her greatest virtue is tending to each student’s emotional and intellectual needs.
Although Sloan won the Teacher of the Year award, all nominees and teachers were praised for their hard and dedication to their profession.

Watch the slideshow of the Teacher of the Year Banquet below.