2020 Honor Teacher Award Winners Announced

BERRIEN SPRINGS, MI – December 22, 2020 – Honor Credit Union is thrilled to announce the winners of the 11th Annual Teacher Awards. This year has been and will continue to be, an especially challenging year for teachers, so Honor adjusted the 11th Annual Teacher Awards to provide more support to even more teachers. In previous years, this award provided 40 teachers with $100 each. However, because of the obstacles teachers faced this year, we increased this to award 70 teachers with a $200 Amazon gift card.

With over 700 applicants throughout Honor’s 23 local member center communities, the number of submissions received was astounding, making the blind selection process difficult. After review, Honor team members selected 70 winners who received a $200 Amazon digital gift card to use in their classroom or school. Entrants submitted a short essay explaining how they would use the money to better their students’ education. The winners were selected based on their submission and classroom needs. The 11th Annual Teacher Award winners are:

• Lee Mansfield (Allegan Public Schools)
• Mark Mattox (Allegan Public Schools)
• Kelly Francisco (Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools)
• Karl Shafer (Battle Creek Lakeview High School)
• Amanda Barrett (Berrien Springs Public Schools)
• Megan Lenz (Berrien Springs Public Schools)
• Gwendolyn Stanford (Benton Harbor Area School)
• Loraine Duffield (Brandywine Public Schools)
• Lacy Payne (Bridgman Public Schools)
• Sonja Churchill (Bridgman Public Schools)
• Natalie Kluge (Buchanan Community Schools)
• Rebekah Wiersma (Buchanan Community Schools)
• Justin Brown (Calhoun Intermediate School District)
• Teresa Edwards (Cassopolis Public Schools)
• Jenni Button (Coloma Public Schools)
• Ann Orr (Countryside Academy)
• Heather Lopez (Countryside Academy)
• Laura Emborsky (Decatur Public Schools)
• Scott Burwell (Decatur Public Schools)
• Andy Hackett (Dowagiac Union Schools)
• Ashley Slusher (Dowagiac Union Schools)
• Ashley Chynoweth (Dowagiac Union Schools)
• Crystal Henninger (Dowagiac Union Schools)
• Patti McCall (Dowagiac Union Schools)
• Catherine Steinke (Eau Claire Public Schools)
• Jennifer Jones (Edwardsburg Public Schools)
• Connie Sather (Gwinn Area Community Schools)
• Erica Jenkins (Harper Creek Community Schools)
• Sandra Hahn (Hartford Public Schools)
• Kimberly Hofstra (Homeschool)
• Kaitlin Rich (Ishpeming Public Schools)
• Matthew Douglas (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Staci Andrews (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Arlene Wright (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Asha Epp (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Allison Terrazas (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Heather Sokolowski (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Julie Davis (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• Kathleen Sant (Lake Michigan Catholic Schools)
• Casey King (Lakeshore Public Schools)
• Kristin Markillie (Lakeview School District)
• Matt Hoffman (Marquette Area Public Schools)
• Heather Mars (Marquette Area Public Schools)
• Kimberly Torreano (Negaunee Public Schools)
• Linnea Gustafson (Negaunee Public Schools)
• Todd Backlund (Negaunee Public Schools)
• Kurt Corcoran (NICE Community Schools)
• Anna Bauers (North Star Montessori Academy)
• Sarah McLeod (North Star Montessori Academy)
• Curtis Brewster (New Buffalo Elementary)
• Ashlee Reed (Niles Community Schools)
• Melissa Garrett (Ostego Public Schools)
• Jamie Barrand (Pansophia Academy)
• Jessica Jones (Paw Paw Early Public Schools)
• Nicole Haring (Paw Paw Public Schools)
• Cody Gregory (Plainwell Community Schools)
• Emily Anthony (Portage Public Schools)
• Suzi Jewell (River Valley Public Schools)
• Michelle Koneff (River School)
• Madelyne Bettis (South Haven School District)
• Julie Sheppard (South Haven School District)
• Courtney Gallup (St Charles Borromeo)
• Michelle Fuller (St. Philip Catholic Central High School)
• Shelby Basham (Tri-County Head Start)
• Deborah Boughner (Trinity Lutheran-St. Joseph)
• Angela Burd (Van Buren Intermediate School District)
• Jill Boudrie (Vicksburg Community Schools)
• Amy Mroczek (Waldron Area Schools)
• Tameka Tyson (Watervliet Public Schools)

PAST WINNERS: See Our 2019 Teacher Award Winners

With the most submissions received to date with this award, Honor Credit Union wanted to give back to more than just our above-selected teachers. In addition to these winners, 10 Honorable Mentions received gifts for their classrooms. These recipients are:

• Stephanie LePoudre (Brandywine Community Schools)
• Marc Hartman (Eau Claire Public Schools)
• Courtney Quandt (Lakeshore Public Schools)
• Robin Pospisil (Niles Community Schools)
• Kim Schmaltz (River Valley Schools)
• Amber Villwock (Southwestern Michigan College)
• Sarah Andalon (St. Charles Borromeo)
• Patricia Humphreys (Tri-County Head Start)
• Holly Bain (Union City Community Schools)
• Susan Gendron (Van Buren Intermediate School District)

Honor Credit Union is committed to staying true to its roots in supporting local schools and teachers, and the Annual Teacher Awards is just one of the many ways Honor gives back throughout the year. The 12th Annual Teacher Awards will begin in August 2021. To learn more about Honor’s involvement in the schools, visit Honorcu.com/Teachers.