Greenville Educator Kelly Nalley's selection as South Carolina's 2010-11 Teacher of the Year was definitely a highlight of this year's festivities, but what other great moments there were!

The 2010 Teacher of the Year Celebration ushered in several changes to the 33-year old event—the largest celebration of South Carolina public education. The event

·      Moved to mid-week to encourage legislative involvement,

·      Included the first-ever Teacher Walk parade from the host Hilton Hotel to the Convention Center, and

·      For the first time ever, all district Teachers of the Year were introduced in the state House and Senate, including a precedent-setting moment on the House floor.

In addition, for weeks prior to the event, Bojangles' sponsored parties in each district Teacher of the Year's school, providing either biscuits and drinks for all teachers, or a generous donation of books to the teacher's school library. To learn more about individual Teachers of the Year, the schedule for school parties and the Bojangles program, click here.

Honorary hosts for the 2010 South Carolina Teacher of the Year Celebration were

SC Secretary of Education Dr. Jim Rex
Rep. Kenny Bingham, House Majority Leader
Rep. Harry Cato, House Speaker Pro Tempore
Rep. Dan Cooper, Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
Sen.  John Courson, Chairman, Senate Education Committee
Rep. Bobby Harrell, Speaker of the House
Sen. John Land, Senate Minority Leader
Sen. Hugh Leatherman, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee
Sen. Glenn McConnell, Senate President Pro Tempore
Rep. Harry Ott, House Minority Leader
Rep. Phil Owens, Chairman, House Education Committee
Sen. Harvey Peeler, Senate Majority Leader
Rep. David Weeks, Black Caucus Leader

Pre-Dinner Activities

The 2010 South Carolina Teacher of the Year festivities began for teachers with a gathering in the hospitality room of the Hilton Columbia Center, where Piggly Wiggly had donated hotel rooms for all. At 5:45, with a congratulatory handshake from state Education Superintendent Dr. Jim Rex and accompanied by cheerleaders from Columbia's Ridgeview High School, all teachers began the first-ever Teacher Walk under a crystal blue sky with a stroll down a red carpet to the Columbia Convention Center.

There, they made their way past the beautiful BMW X6 that the evening's longtime Premier Sponsor – BMW – has donated for a year to the new state Teacher of the Year winner.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina hosted an elaborate Networking With Your Neighbors Event, where the state's top educators, CEOs and lawmakers had an opportunity to mingle. All the while, the Logan Leopards Steel Drum Band from Logan Elementary School in Columbia provided entertainment as attendees enjoyed the complimentary open bar and free-flowing hors d'oeuvres.

Shortly before 7, dinner bells chimed and the crowd moved into an elegantly decorated ballroom, beautiful floral centerpieces on each table. Fifth Grader Sam Sawyer, a member of the steel drum band, delivered the blessing, and the crowd enjoyed a meal of Char-Broiled Petit Filet and Apple-Stuffed Chicken, topped with a chasseur sauce and served with wild rice and a vegetable medley. Wine was served with the meal, and entertainment was provided by the Northwestern High School Jazz Combo. About 7:45, videos appeared on the two large screens discussing the great things going on in South Carolina schools. The videos were produced by SCETV – which filmed the evening for later rebroadcast by TimeWarner Cable to roughly 500,000 homes.

Teacher of the Year Celebration

When through, emcee Mark Quinn, host of SCETV's "The Big Picture" kicked the evening off with introductions of all district Teacbers of the Year.  State Education Superintendent Dr. Jim Rex welcomed the crowd and former Roche Carolina CEO Don Herriott delivered the keynote address. The Northwestern High School Jazz Combo brought the crowd to its feet with a blistering number, and the entire program was interspersed with one-minute videos profiling the five Teacher of the Year Finalists.

The five teachers, listed alphabetically by school district, are:

Kelly H. Nalley, a second –fifth-grade Spanish at Fork Shoals School, Greenville County

Melody Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher at Lugoff Elementary School, Kershaw County

Julia Goodman Marshall, a fifth-grade teacher at Oakdale Elementary School, Rock Hill School District (York Three)

Dr. Samantha Maddox, an English/language arts teacher at Spartanburg High School, Spartanburg School District Seven

Olivia "Libby" Ortmann, a six-eighth-grade at Alice Drive Middle School, Sumter School District 17

Bryan Coburn, the current South Carolina Teacher of the Year was unfortunately in Washington that very night for a national gathering of all state Teachers of the Year. But he sent a video valedictory address. Immediately following Coburn, the crowd was surprised with an unexpected video of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan congratulating all finalists by name and thanking all teachers throughout the state for their service. The video was obtained with the help of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's office.

Then, it was time for the big moment. Envelope in hand,  Superintendent Rex announced that Kelly Nalley, a Spanish teacher in Greenville's Fork Shoals Elementary School would succeed Bryan Coburn of Rock Hill as South Carolina's state Teacher of the Year. BMW Spokesman Max Metcalf then handed Nalley the keys to a brand new BMW X6 for her use in the coming year, and the formal program came to an end at 9 p.m.

The next day, teachers enjoyed a catered breakfast by Bojangles' and remarks from Sandy Smith, deputy superintendent for policy and legislation for the state Department of Education.

They then boarded school buses to the Statehouse where, in an historic first, they were introduced on the House floor. This honor is normally reserved for championship sports teams, but Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell previously declared the state's best teachers a championship team, thus clearing the way for their apperance.

To multiple standing ovations, Rep. Phil Owens, chair of the House Education Committee, took to the floor and introduced the teachers as a group, and the finalists and Kelly Nalley individually. In the Senate, the teachers stood in the balcony for their introduction by Sen. John Courson, chair of the Senate Education Committee.

When through, teachers gathered on the Statehouse steps for photographs by longtime Statehouse photographer Sam Holland.  In addition to a traditional group photograph, the teachers also had a photograph made ot them supporting the state's bid for $175 million in federal money as part of the Race To The Top national competition.

To bring the day and the 2010 Teacher of the Year activities to a close, the teachers gathered for a press conference to kick off May as South Carolina Teacher Appreciation Month. At the press conference, Bojangles' CEO Randy Kibler announced that every eligible teacher honored through the SC Future Minds website this month would be entered in a random drawing for a five-night Bahamas cruise. Then, to the shock – and then cheers -- of the crowd, Kibler announced that Bojangles' would also be giving  the same cruise as a gift to the new state Teacher of the Year, Kelly Nalley. Nalley thanked Kibler, more photos were taken, and the teachers headed back to the hotel and then to their hometowns and their waiting students.

Resources:

www.scfutureminds.org

www.scteachers.org

www.cerra.org