Cordelia Chase attends teacher of the year event

Wed, 11/19/2014 - 7:30am

It was a night to remember for the county candidates of the 2014 Maine Teacher of the Year Gala Event at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, which was held on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 15.

The 2014 Lincoln County Teacher of the Year, Cordelia Chase of Boothbay Region Elementary School, was accompanied by BRES Principal, Mark Tess, and her life-long best friend and nominator, Sarah Sherman. Each county candidate was given table space to showcase their school and classroom.

A pre-gala reception granted the opportunity for the 16 county winners and their guests to co-mingle for an hour, before the three-course dinner and dessert was presented. The evening was kicked off by 2014 Maine Teacher of the Year, Karen McDonald, followed by the presentation of Educate Maine Apple Awards (stunning hand-blown, red and green glass apple trophies) for the winner from each county.

Bill Berry of Saddleback Ski Resort in Rangeley and a former teacher himself, spoke next and then called the candidates back on stage, presenting each of them with a season's pass to Saddleback as a way to say thank you for all their hard work.

This was followed by presentation and gifts from the various co-sponsors of the Maine Teacher of the Year Program, which included: a representative of the Dead River Company; followed by Yellow Light Breen from Bangor Savings Bank; Peter Geiger of the Geiger Company; a representative from Hannaford Supermarkets; Cary Olson from Unum; Rochelle Tome form the Maine Department of Education; David Bridges from the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (who presented blue tooth speakers to every winner); Randy Welch from Smart Technologies (who presented classroom software to every winner); and 2015 Maine Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Dorman, who gave a tremendous speech highlighting the ways in which education has changed in Maine, and the many challenges schools and teachers are faced with everyday in their classrooms.

Bangor Savings Bank's Executive Vice President, Yellow Light Breen, gave the closing remarks, reminding the county candidates that the extraordinary work they do for Maine's students is critical to the state, and that the business community not only notices their efforts, they applaud them. Breen likened the teacher's commitment to their students as, "light replacing darkness," in regard to each teacher's efforts to educate Maine students.