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Salute to Education 2006
- 2006 Salute to Education Grant Recipients
- DeSoto County's Outstanding Educators
- Foundation Scholarships
- Children of Today Tomorrow's Workforce
- Thanks to Our Sponsors
The DeSoto Council Congratulates 2006 Salute to Education Grant Recipients
The DeSoto County Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc. awarded 84 grants at the 2006 Salute to Education program, totaling more than $38,000 to DeSoto County Public School teachers. The DeSoto Council congratulates the hard-working teachers who were awarded these grants and are listed below.
Center Hill Elementary School
Kris Cecil
Cindy Hamilton & Ann Suriani
Center Hill Middle/High School
Janet Littlejohn
Maray Myers
Chickasaw Elementary School
Norma Davis
Dawn Sharp
DeSoto Central Elementary School
Honey Johnson
Tanya Odom
DeSoto Central High School
Joseph Boswell
Jessica Morris
DeSoto Central Middle School
Kathy Clark
Bonnie Crabtree
Sharon Simpson
DeSoto County Alternative Center
Ashley Henley
Judith Marrs
DeSoto County Career Technology Center
Jason Gresham
Greenbrook Elementary School
Donna Bouchillon
Leah Bullock
Hernando Elementary School
Karesa Goff
Lucia Hoover
Hernando High School
Roy Bolden
Ashley Brown & Russ Kicker
Martha Cummins
Hernando Hills Elementary School
Carla Gowen
Patsy Morrison
Hernando Middle School
Cynthia Vaughn
Hope Sullivan Elementary School
Patricia Beyerlein
Sherry Horton
Amy Lofton
Judi Stewart
First Grade Teachers
Horn Lake Elementary School
Lauren Allen Germany
Jenny Moore
Horn Lake High School
Erin DeStafins
Chris Tice
Horn Lake Intermediate School
Wendy Hunt
Lake Cormorant Middle School
Lisa Hutchinson
Rebecca Sisco
Kara Tapp
Lewisburg Elementary School
Leigh Ann Ford
Lynn Reedy
Penny Steiner
Jane Witt
Lewisburg Middle/High School
Lana Solomon
Magnolia School
Nancy Carter & Charles Waller
Oak Grove Central Elementary School
Brandy Bailey
Randi Sluder
Olive Branch Elementary School
Charlotte Abrams
Antoinette Bostick
Beth Tucker
Olive Branch High School
Tiffany Harris & Meredith Talley
Marc Lewis
Olive Branch Intermediate School
Carolyn Bynum & Tamara Little
Olive Branch Middle School
Barbara Knecht
Overpark Elementary School
Mary Beth Elam
Kim McNeer
Pam Moore
Ann Mullins
Amy Pace
Melissa Price
Jama Smith
Dianne Stovall
Pleasant Hill Elementary School
Anne Cagle
Pat Cox
Cathy McBride
Tonya Porter
Sacred Heart School
Jennifer Hodge
SBEC
Reneé Camp
Tammy Skinner
Tonya Wade
Shadow Oaks Elementary School
Michelle Forsythe & Shirl Young
Susan Sandefer
Susan Webster
Southaven Elementary School
Heather Cummins
Wendy Jumper
Patricia Whitehead
Southaven High School
Ada Cates
Cheri Kamler
Southaven Middle School
Emily Frayser
Walter McGaha
Veritas Classical Schools
Jill Marr
Walls Elementary School
Jessica Moore
Paula Pierce
Jennifer Vicars
The DeSoto Council Congratulates DeSoto County's Oustanding Educators
Michelle Corbin, Horn Lake Middle School, Teacher of the Year
Denise Tibbens, Shadow Oaks Elementary School, Parent of the Year
Jeff Gilder, Southaven High School, Administrator of the Year
Carrie Bradley, Adult Educator of the Year
Foundation Awards Scholarships
Each year, the DeSoto County Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc., a program of the DeSoto Council, awards scholarships to a student at Northwest Mississippi Community College and to a student at the University of Mississippi – DeSoto Center. The DeSoto Council also presents a scholarship to a NWCC student.
Courtney Wilbanks of Olive Branch received the Foundation scholarship at NWCC. Wilbanks graduated from DeSoto Central High School where she participated in sports and extra-curricular activities. She has received the Honors English award several times and was nominated for National Scholars.
Jenna Long, recipient of the scholarship at the University of Mississippi – DeSoto Center, is completing an education degree through the University’s 2+2 Program. She has a 3.92 GPA and works full time at a doctor’s office in addition to her evening classes at Ole Miss. Jenna comes from a family of educators and is passionate about becoming a teacher.
Cathrine Dearing is the recipient of the DeSoto Council endowed scholarship. She has maintained a 4.0 grade point average at NWCC while also holding a part-time job. Upon graduation from NWCC, she plans to attend Mississippi State University to complete a degree in business.
Children of Today Tomorrow's Work Force
by Robert Lee Long, DeSoto Times News Staff
The children of today are tomorrow's work force, and businesses have a vested interest in educating Mississippi's next generation.
That was the message of Dr. Hank Bounds, State Superintendent of Education, on Friday, September 29 during a stop in Southaven.
Standing amid a crowd of 350 educators and invited guests at the DeSoto County Economic Development Council's Third Quarter Membership Luncheon, Bounds cited the nearly $40,000 rasied for the DeSoto County Foundation for Excellence in Education teaching grants as an example of that commitment to education.
"Wha'ts happening here can be duplicated in other parts of the state," said Bounds, who also advocated slashing the state's dropout rate in half and bringing up state test scores to the national average.
"You have a good school system here, and there is a culture that expects excellence," said Bounds. "We have to understand if we are going to make economic development a number one priority, we have to have the same type of culture in the rest of the state.
Bounds lauded the commitment on behalf of the business community and the DeSoto Council who made the grants possible. This year, the Foundation awarded 84 grants of up to $500 each.
At the luncheon, Kawneer/Alcoa announced plans for a $10,000 donation to award 20 additional grants. Delta Technical College announced they will donate an extra $5000 to further teachers' goals.
Second-grade teacher Judi Stewart was among the group of educators who won awards. Stewart will use her $500 to implement a "Race for Success" project involving her 22 students. Stewart aims to improve her students' reading skills and raise Mississippi Curriculum Test Scores through the grant.
"We normally receive $283 to provide classroom materials, and now we will be able to go over and above that," Stewart said.
The DeSoto County Foundation for Excellence in Education Thanks our Sponsors Who Make Salute to Education Possible
AERC PLLC; Alcoa Foundation; Allen & Hoshall; Atmos Energy Corp.; BancorpSouth; BankPlus; Baptist Memorial Hospital – DeSoto ; Block USA; Chuck Roberts Commercial Real Estate; Citizens National Bank; Cowboy Corner; Delta Technical College ; DeSoto County Literacy Council; DeSoto County Arts Council; DeSoto County Bank; DeSoto Family Dental Care; First Tennessee Bank; Great American Home Store; Inman Construction Corp.; JBHM Education Group; Johnny Coleman Builders; Kawneer, an Alcoa Company; M&F Bank; Myers Graves & Parker PLLC; Neel-Schaffer; Neverleak Company, LP; Northcentral Mississippi Electric Power Association; Oak Hill MB Church; Olive Branch Printing; Parkwood Behavioral Health System; Pinnacle Real Estate LLC; Renasant Bank; Riki & Brian Jackson; Security Title Guarantee of Baltimore; Sherwin Williams; Southaven Pontiac Buick GMC; Southern Concrete Products, Inc.; SouthGroup/Brown & Haynes Insurance; Triner Scale & Manufacturing; Tri-State Plumbing Heating & Air; Trustmark National Bank; United Way of the Mid-South; Walker Brown & Brown; Wayne Bartley – Autism Education Awareness