Marshall County Service Personnel and Teacher of the Year Announced
Marshall County Board of Education members and county administrators recognized Service Personnel and Teacher of the Year nominees during the regular board meeting on Tuesday evening.
Jeffrey Coleman, a member of the county maintenance department based at John Marshall High School, was named Service Personnel Member of the Year for Marshall County Schools. He was hired fulltime by the district in 2014. Coleman’s co-workers say he’s always smiling, never angry or negative, and is a mentor to others. He exemplifies leadership, by example, by the way he does his job. Coleman is always visible around the campus of JMHS and goes beyond his basic job duties ever day by helping students, faculty, staff and administrators in any way he can.
“Kids are what it’s all about,” said Coleman. “I don’t feel like I enhance the students’ learning, they enhance my job and make John Marshall a great place to work.”
Gavin Hartle, a teacher at John Marshall High School, was awarded Marshall County Schools Teacher of the Year. He currently teaches Algebra II Honors and three different Project Lead the Way courses: Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering and Engineering Design and Development. Hartle is also the robotics team coach. He attended undergraduate school at Fairmont State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, and a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics. He continued his education at Wheeling University and received a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership.
“If I had to summarize my goal for my life, both personal and professional, it would be by stating the following: never pass up an opportunity to better yourself through learning and self-discovery,” explained Hartle. “It is my firm belief that if you are not continually working to improve yourself, you are moving backwards. I am simply suggesting that optimal growth typically occurs when we step out of our comfort zones and try something new.”
Each year service personnel, teachers and administrators vote a faculty and staff member to represent their building as a county contender. Then a committee, consisting of county office officials and previous award recipients, conduct interviews and choose the county winners.
Service Personnel Member of the Year Nominees also included: Lisa Bowers (Cameron Elementary School), Karen Warsinsky (Cameron High School), Shiela Haught (Center McMechen Elementary School), Rebekah Ali (Central Elementary School), Tammy Whitlatch (County Office), Erica McDonald (Gateway Achievement Center), Holly Armstrong (Glen Dale Elementary School), Tina Yoho (Hilltop Elementary School), Dylan Mercer (Maintenance), Donald Blake (McNinch Primary School), Leanne Dobbs (Moundsville Middle School), Stacie Lemmon (Sand Hill Elementary School), Dena Hicks (Sherrard Middle School), Gail Artimez (Transportation) and Amy Bonar (Washington Lands Elementary School).
Other Teacher of the Year nominees at each school included: Jenna Burge (Cameron Elementary School), Rebekah Fox (Cameron High School), Shayla Schmidt (Center McMechen Elementary School), Erica Cunningham (Central Elementary School), Cathy Irish (Gateway Achievement Center), Todd Fromhart (Glen Dale Elementary School), Lisa Woods (Hilltop Elementary School), Carly McElhaney (John Marshall High School), Heather Wojcik (McNinch Primary School) Shelly Lynch (Moundsville Middle School), Mindy Thomas (Sand Hill Elementary School), Lori Caldwell (Sherrard Middle School) and Ashley Fecat (Washington Lands Elementary School).
All Service Personnel Members of the Year and Teacher of the Year nominees were presented with a certificate for being chosen as designees at their respective district locations.
