By Alyssa Ridenour Riverbend News
The Suwannee Education Foundation held a banquet in honor of the 2020-2021 Teachers of the Year and School Related Employee of the Year. The event was held on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Suwannee High School auditorium.
The ceremony began when Suwannee County Superintendent Ted Roush took the stage to honor the District Principal of the Year, Laura Williams, and the District Assistant Principal of the Year, Hunter Abercrombie, both of which were from Suwannee Middle School.
Following the initial introduction, the School Related Employee of the Year winners were honored next. They were named as follows:
Leona Ash of Suwannee Riverside Elementary
Elisahar Woloszyn of Suwanee Pineview Elementary
Crystal Gill of Suwannee Springcrest Elementary
Sandra Fountain of Suwannee Middle School
Chris Ringlein of Suwannee High School
Jeff Lee of RIVEROAK Technical College
Yvonne Topham of Branford Elementary School
Karen Tucker of Branford High School
Scott Koehn of the Transportation Department
Melanie Buchanan of the District Office
Nick Copeland of the Facilities Department
Evan Saunders of the IT Department
Tyrone Ansley of School Choice and Suwannee Virtual School
Once the School Related Employee of the Year had been introduced, the ceremony moved on to announce the District School Related Employee winner. The winner was Leona Ash of Suwannee Riverside Elementary.
The Teachers of the Year were next and were named as follows:
Skyler Phillips of Suwannee Riverside Elementary
Michelle Mowry of Suwannee Pineview Elementary
Becky Skipper of Suwannee Springcrest Elementary
Brantly Helvenston of Suwannee Middle School
Pam Williams of Suwannee High School
Derwin Bass of RIVEROAK Technical College
Mimi Johnson of School Choice and Suwannee Virtual School
Gary Barrs of Branford Elementary School
Stacy Young of Branford High School
Once they had finished announcing the Teachers of the Year, it was time to announce the District Teacher of the Year. The winner of this grand title was Becky Skipper.
All winners received gift bags, which included engraved jewelry for the women and engrave tool kits for the men. The District Teacher of the Year and District School Related Employee of the Year winners will receive a monetary award at a later date, in addition to the trophies they received at the banquet.