21st Anniversary Wilson County Teacher of the Year

January 29th, 2019 by

CSB Press Release

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Wilson County Motors and CedarStone Bank are proud to announce the 21st Annual Wilson County Teacher of

the Year program. Since 1998, these two companies have partnered to celebrate teachers and teaching. The

program began its development in 1996 when W.P. Bone and Bob McDonald came up with the idea as a way to

recognize one of the community’s most important and treasured assets – its teachers. Bone and McDonald

organized a focus group of individuals in the county representing leaders in business, government, civic and

education, to assist in the process and criteria. After two years of planning and preparation, the program

commenced and has been running for twenty-one consecutive years.

Each year, a teacher in each school in the county, public and private, is selected from his/her peers as its teacher

of the year. Those teachers complete a packet that details their experience, teaching philosophy and community

involvement. Those packets are then delivered to Cumberland University where a panel of education faculty

chooses one of the teachers as the Wilson County Teacher of the Year. A banquet is then held where each

teacher of the year and his/her guest, business, community leaders come together to pay tribute to the teachers.

The winner is announced at the completion of the keynote address by university president Dr. Paul Stumb. Each

teacher is presented a plaque recognizing their accomplishment. And the overall winner is presented with a

personal check in the amount of $1,500, and a check for their school in the amount of $500. This year’s banquet

is scheduled for Friday, April 5, 2019.

“I understand the important role that teachers play in the lives of our young people and they make a lasting

impact. It is important that they are recognized and saluted for their commitment”, said W.P. Bone. Bob

McDonald continued, “teaching has always been a challenging profession, and it is more today than ever. It is a

real delight to see these teachers enjoy being applauded and honored on the night of the banquet.”

 

Those teachers who will be honored at the banquet on April 5 are:

  • Connie Canham – Byars-Dowdy Elementary School
  • Stephanie Porter – Carroll-Oakland Elementary School
  • Page Henley – Castle Heights Elementary School
  • Elysia Stover – Coles Ferry Elementary School
  • Angela Lewis – Elzie D. Patton Elementary School
  • Lisa Espenshade – Friendship Christian School
  • Laurie Guethlein – Gladeville Elementary School
  • Kari Ferrell – Lakeview Elementary School
  • Derek Southworth – Lebanon High School
  • Maranda Nave – MAP Academy
  • Bethany J. Davis – Mt. Juliet Christian Academy
  • Alexis Swierc – Mt. Juliet Elementary School
  • Enna Y. Vela – Mt. Juliet High School
  • Lauren Gribble – Mt Juliet Middle School
  • Nicole Williams – Rutland Elementary School
  • Alyson Atchley – Sam Houston Elementary School
  • Meredith Burke – Southside Elementary School
  • Brooke M. Carr – Springdale Elementary School
  • Rob Ruslavage – Stoner Creek Elementary School
  • Andi Kumpf – Tuckers Crossroads Elementary School
  • Julie Davenport – W.A. Wright Elementary School
  • Judy Metcalf – Walter J. Baird Middle School
  • Lauren Conatser – Watertown Elementary School
  • Shanna Leasure – Watertown High School
  • Shannon Queen – Watertown Middle School
  • Chelsea Sharpe – West Elementary School
  • Sherry Tiner – West Wilson Middle School
  • Richard R. Lewis – Wilson Central High School
  • April Kring – Winfree Bryant Middle School
Posted in Uncategorized