College of Education Honors Teachers
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2013) — Since 1998, Mary Ann Vimont has overseen a program that has honored nearly 1,900 educators throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and across the United States. The idea was born one day when she visited a local school where she saw a large group of the school’s students sitting on the floor listening to then-University of Kentucky Head Basketball Coach Tubby Smith. Coach Smith told the students how important education and their teachers were and that if they needed anything, they could go to them. He said that they would make a difference in their lives. Vimont returned to the College of Education that day and began working on the first Teachers Who Made a Difference Program.
Fifteen years later, after honoring so many meaningful educators, Vimont was honored herself for creating a program that has meant so much to so many over the years.
“I don’t do this for me,” Vimont said. “Tubby’s words those years ago stuck with me, and he was right. Teachers are important to us all, whether we know it or not. I knew we needed to come up with a way to let anyone honor those who have helped so much. But it means so much that my daughter, Kathryn, was here today. For the first time in my life, I’m speechless.”
For the 15th anniversary program, assisted for the second consecutive year by UK Women’s Head Basketball Coach Matthew Mitchell, the UK College of Education honored more than 150 educators from 12 states for the significant influence they have had in the lives of their students.
“The University of Kentucky College of Education prides itself on preparing great teachers,” Vimont added. “As part of our mission, we also think it is important to honor those teachers who are making a difference in the lives of their students, here in Kentucky and across the country.”
Teachers Who Made a Difference is not a competition. Each year, all submissions are accepted up to a predetermined limit with each being honored that year. Also each year, the program is assisted by a spokesperson who helps get the word out. In the past, Dermontti Dawson, Tubby Smith, former UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr., Kyle Macy, Dan and Cheri Issel, and UK Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari have led the charge.
Educators were invited to a breakfast reception and program at the UK Student Center Great Hall and Center Theater. Entertainment was provided by the cast of Les Miserables from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Lexington, Ky. Honorees and their guests also were treated to remarks from UK President Eli Capilouto and Coach Mitchell. The program was rounded out by the recognition of the honorees and the presentation of certificates to those in attendance.
If you are interested in nominating a teacher for the 2014 program, submissions will be accepted beginning in December 2013 at http://education.uky.edu/Community/TWMAD.
The 2013 Teachers Who Made a Difference Honorees
Kentucky
Robert J. Adams, Lexington
Bradley Anderson, Lexington
Richard Andreatta, Lexington
Daisy Andry, Lexington
John Anthony, Lexington
Kristin H. Ashford, Nicholasville
Victoria Bach, Richmond
Frank Baldridge, Inez
Jamie Byrne Baldwin, Louisville
Beth Barnes, Lexington
Orville Bennett, Beattyville
Troy Benningfield, Campbellsville
Monnie Berger, Harrodsburg
Sarah Bevins, Mt. Sterling
Susan Blevins, Campbellsville
Jennifer Bode, Louisville
Ella Bowling, Brooksville
Martha Boyd, May's Lick
Scott Brown, Lexington
Pam Brown, Lexington
Kelli Burton, Lexington
Lindi Long Campbell, Lexington
Nancy Chiara, Louisville
Melissa Clinkenbeard, Union
Victoria Paige Cloud, Middlesboro
DeShana Collett, Lexington
Marilyn Collins, Richmond
Lee Coomer, Lexington
Michael Cooper, Morehead
Ralph Crystal, Lexington
Raleigh Dailey, Lexington
Jennifer Dalenberg, Lexington
Melody Danley, Lexington
Edward Dixon, Louisa
James Kevin Downs, Louisville
Dolly Dressman, Lexington
Pam Duncan, Versailles
Steven Lee Ellis, Lexington
Sharon McGuire Evans, Madisonville
Jim Fields, Brooksville
Cortney Hannah Flannery, Beaver
Lucille Garner, Burkesville
Michael Gerst, Lakeside Park
Karen Gill, Lexington
Steve Goggin, Danville
Kelly Gray, Harrodsburg
Jim Green, Morgantown
Robert Grossman, Lexington
Beth Sara Guiton, Lexington
Heidi Hamlyn, Lexington
Beth Hancock, Madisonville
Rexford E. Hanson, Elizabethtown
Holly Hapke, Georgetown
Teresa D. Harley, Harrodsburg
Debbie Harrod, Springfield
Dallas "Wayne" Hayden, Rineyville
Alyson Hayes, Lexington
Volinda J. Heimann, Shepherdsville
Sylvia Hensley, Mt. Eden
Lori Hetzel, Lexington
Calvin “Ted” Higgs, Lexington
Gordon Holbein, Lexington
Katy Hollinger, Lexington
Michelle Hollingsworth, Lexington
Kevin Holm-Hudson, Lexington
Amy Hosier, Lexington
Bobby Howard, Lexington
Wuyang Hu, Lexington
Robert M. Ireland, Lexington
Lynne Jensen, Lexington
Kendra Johnson, Lexington
Janet Mattingly Johnson, Mt. Sterling
Brandee Kaelin, Louisville
Albert Kalim, Lexington
Susannah Kilbourne, Lexington
Carl Andrew Kling, Louisville
Stephanie Knauer, Hebron
Wayne D. Lewis, Versailles
Noemi Lugo, Lexington
Karen Martin, Midway
Georgie Medina, Lexington
Dominique Metze, Richmond
Erin Milburn, Harrodsburg
Catherine Guthrie Milburn, Danville
Cynthia Miller, Lexington
Tammy Mitten-Connell, Fairview
Laura Moore, Louisville
Krista Mullins, Nicholasville
Julie Muravchick, Frankfort
Ron Myers, Elizabethtown
Brenda Nally, Nicholasville
Susan Odom, Lexington
Anne Olson, Lexington
Jeffrey Osborn, Lexington
Jeffery S. Ovall, Lexington
Lisa Padgett, Versailles
Hoarse Partin, Williamsburg
Ron Pen, Lexington
Teresa Perry, Lexington
Christopher Pool, Lexington
Sherry R. Profitt, Rogers
Kendra Quire, Frankfort
Joseph Ratliff, Lexington
Carol A. Riker, Lexington
Ruth S. Roberts, Somerset
Ruth Robinson, London
Andrew William Robinson, Shelbyville
Frank Romanelli, Lexington
Margery Thomas Rouse (deceased), Erlanger
Ana Rueda, Lexington
Jayme Knight Runyon, Paintsville
Buck Ryan, Lexington
Heather Sanders, Harrodsburg
Willard Marvin Sandidge (deceased), Lawrenceburg
Frank Scott, Lexington
Kate Seago, Lexington
Richard Sears, Berea
Loyall Shelly, Harrodsburg
Dan Shumer, Lexington
Jennifer Smith, Lexington
Rosemary Snow, Lexington
Miranda Stewart, Lexington
Lisa Stone, Winchester
Douglas R. Strachan, Lexington
Aggie Sullinger, Lexington
George Szekely, Lexington
Lavonne Taylor, Ivel
Charlie Taylor, Somerset
Harlan Tolle, Lexington
Kenneth Tyler, Lexington
Virginia Valentin, Lexington
Mary Ann Vimont, Lexington
Irina Voro, Lexington
Jackie Watson, Lexington
Ann Watts, Lexington
Geraldine S. Welch, Sidney
Joseph Wilson, Lexington
Jerry Wright, Bowling Green
Connecticut
Cameron Faustman, Lebanon
Illinois
Breanne Farren, Aurora
Indiana
Rich Christensen, Westfield
Nancy Nation, Terre Haute
Michigan
Ramona D. Eger, Hale
Delois Wynne, Oak Park
Jim Veillette, West Bloomfield
New Jersey
Rakhi Chadha, Jersey City
North Carolina
Holly Brower, Winston-Salem
Sharon Sarvey, Goldsboro
Ohio
Philip J. Glandon, Gambier
Kari Phillips, Lewis Center
Lee Suman, Hamilton
Oregon
Dirk Iwata-Reuyl, Corbett
Pennsylvania
Karen Eisenhauer, Harrisburg
Tennessee
Sandra Beeler Massie (deceased), Greenback
Amy Parks Simmons, Martin
Virginia
Tonja K. Saylor, Rose Hill