Pictured are Teacher Appreciation Award recipients (from left, front) Alyssa King, Tenaha Elementary School; Jessica Belrose, S.W. Carter Elementary; Bailee Rash, Shelbyville Middle School; April Bloys, Center Middle School; Holly Derrick, Timpson Elementary; Joanna Huckabee, Tenaha Secondary School. Back row (from left) Tim Verner, Excelsior ISD; John Jackson, Center Roughrider Academy; Genera Bolton, F.L. Moffett Primary; Kerin Curry, Center High School; Alisha Murray, Center Elementary School; Josie Seale, Shelbyville High School.
May 5, 2023 - (Photos Album) - Congratulations to 2023 Teachers of the year Alisha Murray, Center Elementary School and Joanna Huckabee, Tenaha Middle/High School.
Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Teachers of the year for 2023 are Elementary Teacher of the Year Alisha Murray, with Center Elementary School; and Secondary Teacher of the Year Joanna Huckabee, with Tenaha High School. Congratulations to these outstanding Educators!
Stepping in for Mary Lynn Tinkle, due to a family medical concern, in introducing the teachers was Deborah Chadwick, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce President, with prepared statements provided by Tinkle. In describing the elementary Teacher of the Year, Alisha Murray, the statement was made that, “if you were to ask Murray what she teaches it would not be reading, writing or social studies, her answer would be, ‘I teach children.’ This is a belief that defines her job as a teacher, she truly aims to see and teach the whole child and work to determine how she can help them grow and flourish in many different aspects of their lives.”
Chadwick continued, “She strives to address students needs by meeting them where they are, and then providing them with individualized learning opportunities to help get them where they need to be in order to become successful learners. She shows her students that they can be learners and that they can achieve academic excellence despite their life circumstances, learning disabilities or any other barrier they must overcome. She has learned that celebrating growth in any form, no matter how small, is an accomplishment worth celebrating and is often that celebration of even small accomplishments that makes students sometimes for the first time see themselves as learners, not losers.”
Chadwick elaborated on Murray’s drive to pursue challenging methods of teaching, “You might wonder what motivates our elementary teacher of the year to take this effective yet challenging approach to teaching. She would say, ‘education is my passion because I'm able to entrust students while showing the light of Christ through love and service.’”
Murray’s students have learned lessons through service to the community, and for a decade now she and her students have collected gifts to give students whose parents are incarcerated.
“The students collect coins then shop for the gifts. Not only do the students learn about money and shopping wisely to get the most gifts with the money they collected, they also get to experience the joy of giving. Students who receive the gifts feel so blessed to be able to have a real Christmas like their friends. It is truly a win-win project,” said Chadwick.
Her students also participate in a community outreach program at low income housing and in several other community outreach programs throughout the area.
Chadwick then began introducing the Secondary Teacher of the Year, Joanna Huckabee, “Let me tell you about this teacher who could never be described in just one sentence. Beautiful on the outside and more importantly, beautiful on the inside. Builds relationships with students because she knows students don't care how much you know, until they know how much the teacher cares. Energetic, driven, competitive, positive, and passionate. Community supporter, devoted wife, mother, daughter, selected two years in a row for campus Teacher of the year. Tells students and her own children, there are winning days in which you achieve your goals, and there are learning days where you make yourself better by learning from your mistakes in other words, no such thing as a bad or worthless day.”
Of all the things Huckabee was described as embodying, one statement was said to best describe her and that was that she was born to teach.
She was described as having a teacher’s spirit throughout her time in school earning her education, and her mother has said she was destined to be a teacher no matter what path she chose.
“[Huckabee] went to Tenaha with a strong determination to teach students the skills needed to be successful in a world. Her career and technology skills she taught them would make them job ready with the ability to be gainfully employed after high school or to be college ready. One of her greatest highlights of teaching in Tenaha happened this year with the support of her superintendent. She taught a drone certification pathway that teaches students how to fly drones and a number of applications for drone videography that will open doors for students to have careers in this very fast growing industry.”
Chadwick stated that as Huckabee transitions into the director of technology position while still teaching, she'll have the opportunity to teach teachers how to incorporate technology into their instruction, to enhance their teaching, and to help reach out to students making lessons more meaningful and a bit more fun.
“As technology director, she will be teaching parents, community member and other stakeholders by keeping them informed and connected through the school district's. Social media. If you ask our secondary teacher of the year, if she was born to teach, I think she would answer in a way quite similar to this quote, I wasn't born just to teach, I was born to inspire others, to change people, to provide opportunity, and never give up. Even when faced with challenges that seem impossible.”
The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Teacher Appreciation Reception, presented by Badders Law Firm, and hosted by the Shelby County Chamber was held Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at the Windham Civic Center in Center at 4:30pm. The reception is held annually to salute and recognize the dedicated administrations and teaching staff of all the Shelby County school districts. The Chamber of Commerce Education committee presented each school campus Teacher of the Year with a Certificate of Recognition and announced the Shelby County Teacher of the Year for Elementary and Secondary schools. This is a time when gratitude and appreciation is expressed to the educators throughout the county. Congratulations to all the Campus winners!!
The Chamber of Commerce expressed gratitude to the following Sponsors and Businesses who donated Door Prizes and/or Gift for the Teacher Goody bags for the 2023 Annual Teacher Appreciation.
Presenting Sponsor: Badders Law Firm
Gold Sponsors: Farmers State Bank and Shelby Savings Bank
Silver Sponsors: H&R Block, McWilliams & Son and Ray Jones Chevrolet
Table Sponsors: American State Bank, Century 21 Action Team, Holiday Nursing and Rehabilitation, Mathews Realty, O’Reilly Group/McDonalds, Panola College, Town & Country Real Estate and Windham Family Dental
Spotlight Tables: A Pineywoods HHC, Blake Furniture, Impressions Advertising, Shelby Insurance Agency and The Neon Horizon
Additional sponsors: 936 Fitness, Ace Hardware, All Hours Fitness, American State Bank, Badders Law Firm, Blake Furniture, Center Floral, Center Health & Harmony, Century 21 Action Team Realtors, Citizen’s Bank, Dairy Queen, deb’s Boutique, Diamond B Coffee, Farmers State Bank, Focused Care of Center, Hello Beautiful Boutique, Ivan Smith Furniture, Light & Champion, Lily Farm, Mathews Realty, Mooney’s Emporium, O’Reilly Group/McDonalds, Panola College – Shelby Regional Training Center, Rio Theater, Sugar Rush Artisan Bakery, Toledo Automotive, Town & Country Real Estate, T&R Steaks & More, Watson Florist, Whataburger, White Cottage Mercantile.
