Four Logan County educators received top accolades Thursday after being nominated by their current and former students, students’ parents and their co-workers, honoring their dedicated efforts to make a difference in the lives of area youths and instilling a lifelong love of learning for those just starting elementary school to pupils graduating high school and beyond.
Quest Federal Credit Union’s 2021 Logan County Teacher of the Year Awards were presented to honorees Tracey Notestine from Indian Lake Schools; Katie Gallaway from Bellefontaine City Schools; Tyler Hodge from Riverside Schools; and Myles Bowers from Benjamin Logan Schools, during a luncheon at Brewfontaine, 211 S. Main St.
Matt Jennings, Quest CEO, said the credit union began the Teacher of the Year Award program in 2019 after a request from board member Ed Rogers, an Indian Lake Schools teacher. Rogers had noted that the former Bellefontaine Rotary Club’s Excellence in Teaching Awards program had just ended after recognizing numerous teachers over many years.
“Ed came us to asking if we could continue this program, and we’re very happy to do so,” Jennings said. “We want to recognize all of the dedicated work of our teachers. The work you do in the classroom today is so important for the future of our community.”
While the teachers receiving the awards serve as mentors to the pupils in their schools, Bellefontaine Elementary School first-grade teacher Katie Gallaway said she remembers who first inspired her to be a teacher.
“I loved my first-grade teacher, and I knew from being in her classroom that I wanted to be a teacher some day,” the 16-year educator said. “That idea stuck with me throughout my years growing up years and coincidentally, now I also teach first-grade.”
A native of Maryland, Gallaway said her family moved to the Logan County area when she was a senior in high school, so she also is a Bellefontaine High School graduate.
Watching her young students’ progress throughout the year is most rewarding, she said.
“It’s so fun seeing the ‘light bulbs’ go off when they figure something out. I love watching their growth during the school year. They’ll come in not sure how to write a sentence, and then all of the sudden, the have mastered it.”
The first-grade teacher was nominated by a co-worker, who said, “Katie is genuinely the most kind and caring individual I have ever met. I believe she does not know how to be any other way except for kind. She is a ball of energy and enthusiasm.
“I have personally seen her first-hand, go above and beyond any criteria or expectation to make sure her students feel loved, cared for and safe.”
Benjamin Logan High School teacher Bowers, now in his 10th year in the district, is the high school band director and teaches a number of music-related courses, from music theory and appreciation, to American Popular Music, music technology, band and jazz ensemble.
His student who nominated him, Alicia Jenkins, said Bowers helped to shape her future career path.
“He has been a great influence for my music career and because of him, I want to become a music teacher,” she said. “He is a great teacher who cares about seeing his students grow. He makes sure you fully understand the concepts he teachers and tells us the theory behind why it is what it is.”
A Delphos native who also taught for a year in the Delphos Jefferson School District, Bowers said he enjoys “helping students find creativity through music.” Several of his past students also are studying music-related fields in college as well, including music performance, music production and music therapy.
“It is a lot of fun hearing about different students who have gone on to pursue music as a career, or who are able to keep music in their lives in different ways,” said Bowers, who is assisting the jazz band with producing an album entitled, “ 47 East” that will be released soon.
A fellow music teacher also is a Quest Award recipient — Notestine, who teaches third- and fourth-grade general music at Indian Lake Elementary, and also works in the middle school and high school buildings as well, teaching choir, the Meistersingers show choir and assisting with high school musicals.
Serving in those roles starting with the elementary students, the 1994 Indian Lake High School graduate said she loves that she knows “every single kid in the school district.”
Now in her 19th year at Indian Lake, Notestine previously worked for Waynesfield-Goshen Schools for three years. A parent nominated her for the honor.
“She gives her time more and more each day,” the parent said. “She listens to her students, not only as a teacher, but also as a mentor and a friend. She holds her students accountable and at the same time, they trust her enough to come to her with personal struggles and seek problem-solving from her.”
A former student, Alex Cruz, nominated Hodge for the Teacher of the Year Award, noting that the Riverside-Ohio Hi-Point Career Center satellite manufacturing instructor “goes out of his way to not only help you, but to make you feel supported in everything you do in school and in activities.”
Hodge is a 2009 Riverside High School graduate who has taught for three years in the district, after previously working in the automotive mechanic field. He also coaches football at the school.
“I love teaching and when the opportunity came up at Riverside, I was excited to take this position,” he said.
“I enjoy the relationship-building with the students. We get to have that bond with the students and the chance to mentor them at such a crucial time in their lives, when they’re making decisions that will shape their future.”