St. Michael-Albertville teachers were among a group of more than 150 educators honored for their skills in leadership and education at the Leadership in Educational Excellence (LEEA) event held on Wednesday, October 29, at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.
“Each day you get to pick your attitude”, said keynote speaker Reneé Rongen “By telling yourself you will have a terrific day, you bring that attitude to school and to your students,” she continued.
STMA teachers honored were:
Blair Huggins – Seventh grade history Middle School East
Megan Johnson – Q Comp Advisor and former second grade teacher from Fieldstone
Peggy Skon – Second grade teacher at Big Woods
Molly Leuthner – English and ninth grade academy leader at STMA High School
Blair Huggins, Megan Johnson, Peggy Skon and Molly Leuthner are joined by Resource’s Rob Cavanna at the Leadership Awards last week in St. Cloud.
More than 500 people attended the event to honor 152 educators, who were each recognized with a plaque and certificate from the Governor of Minnesota.
Each of the 152 honorees were nominated by their school or district. Represented at the event are public, private, parochial, charter schools, the Meeker & Wright Special Education Cooperative and the Wright Technical Center. There were forty-one school districts / agencies represented.
The evening began with a welcome and congratulations by Rob Cavanna, executive director of Resource. “Each day you teach and reach students. The focus tonight is on educational excellence. It exemplifies these honorees’ seeking of excellence in their own personal and professional lives. They model excellence both for students and their greater community,” he said. Cavanna concluded with remarks from the National Teacher of the Year, Sean McComb. He quoted “teachers have the power to push passions, to help healing and to hand out hope and empower inspiration. Good teachers create optimism while giving skills.”
The Presiding Superintendent for the evening was Dr. Jim Behle from the St. Michael-Albertville School District.
“I am honored to be here representing the superintendents and pass along our congratulations to each of this evening’s honorees,” he said.
The event is sponsored by the participating school districts, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Horace Mann Agency and Resource Training & Solutions. It is coordinated by Sandra Cordie, Director of Educational Program. This banquet marked the 23rd anniversary of the LEEA event. To date, there have been 3,344 educators in the Central MN region who have received this recognition.
“Each one of you have gifts and when you combine those gifts with a passion therein lies your purpose. Honorees, your purpose is teaching kids. I salute each of you,” Rongen concluded.