30 APRIL 2017 ARCAD A NEWS & SPORTS COLLECTOR CAR CENTER Servicing Your Car Is Not Our Job, It’s Our Passion • F actory Trained Technicians Using St ate of the Art Equipment • F amil y Owned & Serving The East V alley Since 1973 • Shuttle Service, Pick Up & Delivery A v ailable at no extra cost 480.968.5000 | www.sccarcenter.com • Jaguar & Range Rover Experts • Honor Most Extended W arranties • All Service Guaranteed/ Parts & Labor * All required factory maintenance Services S E R V I C E By Greg A. Bruns igh school was a very difficult time for me, so I loathed the idea of pursuing more education after graduation. In my mind, geography and math were instruments of torture and I barely made it through those two subjects. I planned to forego college and work my way up the corporate ladder. At the suggestion of my father, I enrolled in night classes at Scottsdale Community College, just to keep busy and stay fresh. After a couple years of this, I realized I really needed a college degree. The only obstacle I saw were some core classes that I couldn’t get around no matter what: geography and math. I decided to tackle geography my first semester. I convinced myself I was going to hate it, but I could at least get a passing grade and be done with it. But I ended up with a geography professor who thought otherwise and took a specific interest in me, challenging me in geography while motivating me in the realm of higher education. He helped me see past the limitations I had put on myself and encouraged me to become the best me that I can be, however clichéd that sounds. Three years after that GEO101 class, I graduated with honors from NAU, with my bachelor’s degree in… wait for it… geography. My emphasis was in computer cartography (map making), and in a roundabout way, that led me to the Arcadia News , designing ads and writing copy. In 2010, I tried to track down my old professor to say thank you. When I couldn’t find him, the Teachers We Love program was born, to encourage others not to wait too long to say thank you like I did. Nearly everyone has that special teacher who made a difference, but not everyone has a chance to convey their gratitude. We wanted to come up with a way to help people express their appreciation and give that special teacher the recognition they deserve. The Arcadia News Teachers We Love program has been a great success, affording nearly 50 students and families the opportunity to publicly say thank you to a special teacher who has made a difference. Entry forms are available on our web site, and every month we select one entry by committee. After coordinating with the nominator and the school administration, we make a surprise visit to the teacher’s cl a s s r o o m t o present the award. The smiles and looks of surprise we capture are genuine and it can be an emotional moment, with the student and family there to help us present the award. We provide an official “Teacher We Love” certificate, gifts to local restaurants and spas, and we invite the winners to a special teacher’s luncheon at the end of each school year. I’m thankful for our sponsors, Postino and The Phoenician Spa, who help make each teacher award extra special with their gift certificates. It has been an honor to bring joy to these teachers since we started this program six years ago. There are only a couple months left in this 2016-17 school year, so nominate the teacher who makes a difference in your life on our web site: arcadianews.com. While writing this special anniversary update about the TWL program, I learned that my old professor still works in the Maricopa Community College system, teaching geography to those who are interested. I’m already writing my letter of thanks. TEACHERS WE LOVE RECIPIENTS SCHOOL TEACHER 2011-2012 Christ Lutheran Jennifer Palmer Archway Veritas Jennifer Herndon Hopi Patti Bodenave St. Thomas the Apostle Charlene Mills New Way Academy Barbara Fuller ANLC Elizabeth Missal Arcadia High Barb Thomas St. Theresa Molly Woods Christ Lutheran Mrs. Perry-Clark 2012-2013 Ingleside Cathy Rathburn ANLC Kelly Plowman Biltmore Prep Mary Sleasman Hopi Dianne Ruderman Christ Lutheran Kristine Krause St. Theresa Gloria Peneda Biltmore Prep Ana Contreras 2013-2014 Ingleside Collete Jobin Tavan Jenny Martin ANLC Kathy Mason St. Thomas the Apostle Kelly Schurman Hopi Whitney Keeler Biltmore Prep Sarah Irizarry Hopi Livia Rice St. Thomas the Apostle Zach Zipser 2014-2015 Hopi Nann Horton Ingleside Ari Blankstein Christ Lutheran Liane Brinkman Veritas Cindy Farmer Hopi Ruth Elwardt Arcadia Montesorri Michele Brick Christ Lutheran JoAnne Owens Ingleside Erin Kadera Hopi Allison Bosworth 2015-2016 St. Theresa Mary Griffin Xavier Gina Nunez St. Thomas the Apostle Emma LeBlanc Tavan Shelly Rose Archway Veritas Raymond Davison Arcadia High & Ingleside Claudina Garcia Biltmore Prep Brynn Bennett Phoenix Country Day School Maurine Fleming Hopi Debbie Voris 2016-2017 Biltmore Preparatory Kelli Louis Arcadia High Richard Fairchild Hopi Nicole Packer Christ Lutheran Rhiannon Greder Ingleside Tom George Archway Veritas Megan Opitz How Teachers We Love was born FROM THE PUBLISHER H Arcadia News 25 th Anniversary Feature