KEY WEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RECOGNIZES ACHIEVEMENTS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT LUNCHEON

KEY WEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RECOGNIZES ACHIEVEMENTS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT LUNCHEON 

KEY WEST, Fla. – The Key West Chamber of Commerce recognized teachers from the district at schools in Key West, at the end of April. The educators were a group the chamber honored for their dedication to teaching the students in their classrooms. Teachers are chosen three times a year and honored at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The Chamber’s Education Committee awarded the following teachers with a plaque sponsored by Local Awards and Engraving, lunch sponsored by Royal Furniture Floors and Windows, and a gift bag filled with cash donations, gift cards, and merchandise from businesses and organizations a part of the Key West Chamber of Commerce:

Heidi Roberts | Gerald Adams Elementary School

Stephanie Manaher | Horace O’Bryant School

Tina Moody| Key West Collegiate Academy

Michelle Morgante| Key West High School

Robin Black | Poinciana Elementary School

Janice Wish | Sigsbee Charter School

Beth Kilroe | The Basilica School of Saint Mary Star of the Sea

Gabriela Guerrero |May Sands Montessori School

The chosen teachers were nominated by their peers and school principals for the honor. These teachers were seen as educators who exhibited excellence in teaching students in the district, and exuded positivity in the classroom. The Key West Chamber’s members have also been dedicated to distributing scholarship funding to students attending schools in the District located in Key West. Since the program’s inception, Chamber of Commerce members have raised more than $800,000 for Key West schools.

This year was also the inaugural Financial Fitness Competition. Students formed teams sponsored by members of the Chamber of Commerce to compete in an online financial fitness competition. The two qualifying teams then went on to the Financial Fitness Competition finals to compete for $15,000 donated by the Keys Federal Credit Union. The first place team of the competition, Rachel Willcox, Taylor Olive, and Ian Wilcox, along with the second place team, John Mott, Christian Brannon, and Alan Demier, were honored at the luncheon for their work. Second place winners received $1,000 each from an anonymous donor.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Virginia Panico said all of these programs are ultimately to help the students. “The students are our future. They are our future employees, and business leaders, governmental leaders. It is important they get a great education. We will take donations from anyone in the community for our Tom Sawyer Five Star Program, because the school supplies that they need are not all there sometimes.”

Chamber officials also announced the teachers in March who were nominated for the Sponsor-a-Classroom program. Members choose four teachers at random based on nominations collected for three months prior to the drawing at the March meeting. Each teacher received $250 sponsored by Don Whitehead of the Wicker Guesthouse.

Superintendent Mark Porter said teachers and students benefit greatly from the support of the chamber members in the Key West community. “We are grateful to the Key West Chamber of Commerce and its members for the support we receive in our classrooms and beyond. The Tom Sawyer Five Star program offers so many opportunities for our students and teachers to receive community recognition and backing.”

For more information about the Key West Chamber of Commerce, their Education Committee and the Tom Sawyer Five Star Scholarship program, or making a donation go to www.keywestchamber.org. For more information about the District’s mission and vision visit www.keysschools.com. Find the district on Facebook, @mymcsd.

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