Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

High Country Kudos—Individuals and Groups Making a Difference

WHS Spanish Teacher Wins Regional Honors
Carmen Scoggins, a 14-year Spanish teacher at Watauga High School, was named the Southern Conference on Language Teaching’s Regional Teacher of the Year at the organization’s annual conference in April.
Each state in the 13-state conference can send one state language Teacher of the Year to the regional selection. Scoggins as selected on the basis of her teaching portfolio, letters of recommendation and an interview. She will advance to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages convention in Orlando in November where she and four other regional teachers will vie for National Language Teacher of the Year. The selected teacher will serve as a spokesperson for language learning in 2009.

Boone United Methodist Raises $112,000 for Missions
With missionaries from around the world and around the mountain, Boone United Methodist church raised $112,000 for missions during the last weekend in April.
The church’s missionary conference began Friday night, April 25, and continued through Sunday services, April 27, with missionaries speaking throughout the weekend. Rev. Glen Osborn, president of Chinese Outreach Ministries, delivered the keynote for both services Sunday morning. Several other missionaries were present. Throughout the conference, local, regional and international missionary displays were available for viewing and manned by representatives from each organization.

Van Allen Earns MMC Designation
Boone Town Clerk Freida Van Allen has earned the prestigious Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC).

The MMC is one of the two professional designations granted by IIMC. To qualify for entrance into the Master Municipal Academy, which prepares participants for achieving the MMC status, the clerk must have earned the CMC designation by attending extensive education programs and demonstrating pertinent experience in a municipality. The program prepares participants to meet the challenges of the complex role of the municipal clerk by providing them with quality education in partnership with 47 institutions of higher learning.

The Master Municipal Academy is an advanced continuing education program that prepares participants to perform more complex municipal duties. The program has an extensive and rigorous educational component, a professional and social contributions component, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Academy members must demonstrate that they have actively pursued educational and professional activities and have remained informed of current sociopolitical, cultural, and economic issues that affect local governments and municipalities.

BREMCO Recognizes Employee Service
Watauga County employees of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and Blue Ridge Energies, LLC, were recently recognized for their service during the company’s annual employee awards dinner and celebration at Broyhill Inn.
Pictured from left are Line Technician A Richard Butler (20 years’ service), Director of Economic Development Brian Crutchfield (20 years’ service), Vice President of Human Resources and Administration Julie O’Dell-Michie (5 years’ service), Construction Layout Technician Wayne Reese (10 years’ service), Field Service Technician Marty Wood (5 years’ service) and Vehicle Mechanic Kenneth Teague (30 years’ service). Not pictured are Crew Leader Ben Hurley (20 years’ service) and District Manager Susan Jones (5 years’ service).

Teague, Norris Receive Top BREMCO Honors
Two Watauga County residents were among four employees of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and Blue Ridge Energies recognized with the company’s top awards during the company’s annual employee service awards dinner held at the Broyhill Inn. Each year, employees of Blue Ridge Electric and its heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, nominate and select four outstanding employees to receive the company’s top awards

Kenny Teague received the Blue Ridge Spirit Award, and Kevin Norris received the Touchstone Overall Excellence Award.

Watauga High School Wins Exemplary School Award
Watauga High School has won the inaugural Exemplary School Award given to recognize the top overall school in the state as determined by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the North Carolina Coaches Association and the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association. The Exemplary School Award is based on the total quality of the school’s athletic programs, including the academic achievements of its student-athletes, success in athletic competition, sportsmanship, the scope of opportunities offered, the level of community interest and involvement and the facilities provided.

In recognition of the award, Watauga High School receives a banner and a $1,000 award for use in its athletic programs.

Two from The Crossnore School Receive National Awards
Dr. Phyllis Crain, executive director of The Crossnore School, congratulated national award winners Michael Jones (left) and Robert Quick (right). Jones received the Catherine Hershey Award for Student of the Year from the Coalition of Residential Educators, and Quick received the CORE Award for Philanthropist of the Year. Photo courtesy of The Crossnore School

Six Watauga High School Students Selected for Governor’s School
Six Watauga High School students have been selected to attend the 2008 Governor’s School, a six-week summer program for academically gifted students from across the state. The students and the subjects in which they were chosen are William Barbour and Spenser Hallmark in drama; Wesley Templeton in mathematics; and Kaitlyn Hinshaw, Win Matsuda and Christopher Pawlyszyn in natural science.

Students attending Governor’s School are nominated in one of eleven subject areas: art, choral music, dance, drama, English, French, instrumental music, mathematics, natural science, social science and Spanish. The state pays all expenses of attending the six-week program.

The Governor’s School of North Carolina is the nation’s oldest statewide summer residential program for academically gifted high school students. The program is located on two campuses: one at Salem College in Winston-Salem and the other at Meredith College in Raleigh.

Grandfather Home Board Member Receives Racial Justice/One Imperative Award
Brenda White Wright, a Grandfather Home board member, recently received the 2008 YWCA Racial Justice/One Imperative Award. The award is presented each year to an individual who has “served in a leadership role, has demonstrated a solid commitment in the area of racial justice, and models a high standard of courage, integrity, and steadfastness in support of policies and practices consistent with the YWCA mission.”

The Crossnore School Embraces the Sanctuary Model
The Crossnore School has begun implementation of the Sanctuary Model of care in its delivery of services to North Carolina’s abused, abandoned and neglected children. “This decision marks a new level in our commitment to be a leader in the state for the programs we provide for our children,” said Executive Director Phyllis Crain. Using the Sanctuary Model will give The Crossnore School a specific framework to define its mission in its service to some 250 children from across the state each year. “The Sanctuary Model emphasizes healing, which has always been a major component of our mission,” said Crain.

Dr. Phyllis Crain (left), executive director of The Crossnore School is pictured with David McCorkle, Sanctuary Coordinator with the Sanctuary Institute at the Andrus Children’s Center, and Sharon Smith-Wise, assistant executive director of The Crossnore School. Photo courtesy of The Crossnore School

Tiller Graduates from NC State as Valedictorian
Eli Tiller, a 2004 graduate of Watauga High School, graduates summa cum laude as a valedictorian at NC State University on Saturday, May 10, with a major in biochemistry, a minor in Spanish and a 4.0 average.
After graduation, Tiller will travel in Italy and Turkey before teaching in New York City for two years as part of Teach For America, a program to eliminate educational inequity. In 2007, more than 18,000 individuals applied to Teach For America. Approximately 2,900 were accepted and placed in 26 regions across the country.

In addition to valedictorian, Tiller’s honors include Dean’s List, Phi Beta Kappa, Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship and University Scholar. At State, Tiller was a co-founder of Men Against Rape and Head Coach of the Women’s Club Soccer Team. In 2007, he taught students in an urban orphanage for boys in Huancayo, Peru.

ASU Prof Named One of Nation’s Most Innovative Education Leaders
David Considine, a professor and media literacy consultant at ASU, will be honored with the prestigious Cable’s Leaders in Learning Award for creating and implementing innovative ways to educate students and for making a substantial contribution to learning in Boone and beyond. Considine was chosen as one of the 14 national winners selected from a pool of
44 finalist applications.
As the only winner in the Media Literacy Education category, Considine is being recognized for his ability to model a management approach that enabled him to introduce media literacy to an educational institution and sustain that innovation for more than a decade, creating multiple media literacy entry points for students, supported by numerous faculty at both the graduate and undergraduate level.

Vogel Receives UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence
Mark Vogel, a professor of English at ASU, has received a UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. Vogel and recipients from 16 other institutions in the UNC System will be recognized during a luncheon to be held May 9. Each award winner receives a commemorative bronze medallion and a $7,500 cash prize.

A member of the Appalachian faculty since 1989, Vogel is admired as a quiet leader who has made a meaningful impact on students, colleagues and the larger community.

Prior to coming to Appalachian, Vogel taught at the community college, high school and middle school levels. At Appalachian, he has focused on making undergraduates stronger English teachers and using the university’s outreach to improve the teaching of English in middle and high schools in a 15-county region.

Avery County Habitat For Humanity Celebrates “Women Build”
May 4 to 10 is National Women Build Week. Women Build is a program created by Habitat for Humanity International to empower women to take action against insufficient housing. The Avery County Habitat for Humanity has formed a steering committee for its own chapter of the Women Build program and work is under way to begin fundraising, training and working on ACHFH jobsites.
Members of the steering committee for ACHFH’s Women Build are (front row) Linda Owens, Sondra Underwood, Landis Wofford, (second row) Sheryl Esenwein, Teri Seegers, Linda Morrissey, (third row) Heather Buchanan and Gayle Culbreath.

Any women interested in helping or joining ACHFH’s Women Build program can call 828-733-1909 or send an email to info@averycohfh.org.

Three Watauga County Girl Scouts Earn Silver Awards
Three Watauga County Girl Scouts have received the Girl Scout Silver Award in recognition of their community service projects.

Troop 367 – Carrie Hayes, Vilas: Leading by example, Hayes wanted to make a lasting impact on the youth at Crossnore School, a school for abused or neglected children. She spent time with them doing crafts, painting pumpkins, making brownies, helping them with homework and simply demonstrating love.

Troop 367 – Julia Roberts, Boone: Because pet owners today don’t always know about safety, Roberts, an avid pet lover, helped educate the younger generation. She obtained permission from the local after-school coordinator to set up presentations at three county elementary schools. She visited a vet to learn more about vaccinations and the correct timing of vaccines, printed coloring sheets, obtained a microchip for her presentation and solicited informational brochures from vet sales representatives. In addition, Roberts collected and prepared materials for 250 baggies to distribute to each child.

Troop 459 – Dawn Woodard, Banner Elk: Using her leadership and organizational skills, Woodard’s project addressed the need for adequate care for injured wildlife in the area. She organized volunteers to help the Blue Ridge Wildlife Institute prepare for the onslaught of patients and cleanup from the summer season. In her effort to recruit volunteers, she promoted it to various organizations, family and friends. On the workday, she cleaned and repaired cages, gathered perches and fed orphaned birds.