Words like “amazing,” “reliable” and “an inspiration” were used to describe the 2013-14 Warsaw Community School Corp. support staff, special services and teacher of the year winners. At Monday morning’s “Welcome Back to School and Employees of the Year Recognition” program, Director of Communications and Language Programs Wendy Wildman Long announced all the employee-of-the-year candidates and winners. Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz and three of the seven school board members presented each with plaques. Andrew Bass is the 2013 teacher of the year. According to his nomination, read by Long, Bass “is described by colleagues as amazing, engaging and inspiring. He holds his students to a high standard of excellence and fulfills our mission statement by desiring for all of them to succeed.” Bass has “exciting hands-on labs that engage students in applying science projects through project-based learning.” He also is “exemplified as a coach who enriches the lives of his athletes by focusing on team spirit, building good character and expecting strong academics.” The candidates for the WCS teacher of the year included Terry Aukeman, Warsaw Area Career Center; Bass, Edgewood Middle School; April Boggs, Lakeview Middle School; Krista Dausman, Leesburg Elementary; Holly Fancil, Gateway Education Center; Stacey Mehlberg, Harrison Elementary; Derek Pike, Washington STEM Academy; Sherry Searles, Claypool Elementary; Amy Swihart, Madison Elementary; Kathy Williams, Warsaw Community High School; Tami Williamson, Jefferson Elementary; Sherry Zehr, Eisenhower Elementary; and Jane Zellers, Lincoln Elementary. WCS Head Nurse Tracey Akers was announced as the special services employee of the year. Her nomination states she is “an inspiration to her colleagues, students, teachers and members of the community.” As a school nurse, she “manages the medical needs of students with a variety of health issues, provides direction and assistance for new medication concerns, helps with home visits and participates in case conferences when medical issues arise.” Akers not only serves as school nurse, but “also enriches the lives of others through her leadership of the Boomerang Backpack program, which supplies needy students with healthy food items for the weekend.” One of her nominators stated, “I am in awe of her dedication to students. She is an inspiration to all of us working in the Backpack program.” The special services candidates included Akers, Edgewood; Jeanne Calvin, Jefferson; Leigh Cox, Madison; Cara Drake, Lincoln; Sherry Fancil, Lakeview; Phil Jensen, WACC; Brenda Linky, WCHS; Angie Madeford, Washington; Sagan Stier, Gateway; Jim Thompson, Harrison; and Laurel Whetstone, Claypool. The support employee of the year is Don Ritter. He has been employed by WCS for 21 years and is a “vital” member of the WCS maintenance staff. “He is reliable, dependable and always attentive to the needs of students and staff across the district. This exemplary support employee does whatever it takes to make certain that our buildings are comfortable and safe. He often works behind the scenes at odd hours and times, including weekends and holidays, to ensure that our students and teachers have classroom environments that support academic excellence,” his nomination states. In addition to his role as the heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician for WCS, Ritter also is active in his church and participates in a county jail ministry. Along with Ritter, the candidates for support employee of the year included Deb Baumgartner, Washington; Robert Farrington, transportation; Bonnie Fox, Claypool; Lisa Francis, Leesburg; Leonard Gagnon, WCHS; Yesenia Giron, Gateway; Wendy Harges, Harrison; Teresa Helm, Edgewood; Dixie Houck, Madison; Dan Litfin, Eisenhower; Carolyn Neff, Lakeview; Donna Propp, Jefferson; Ginny Rautenkranz, Lincoln; Charles Shelton, food services; Jeni Streeter, WACC; and Brad Gutwein, ESC.
