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BACK TO SCHOOL | WEAnews 4 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Kathy Vetter WEA President kvetter@wyoea.org WEA Awards For Leaders In Education With the holiday season upon us, we are all thinking of gifts we can give our family and friends. A wonderful gift you can give a fellow member of WEA is to nominate them for one of WEA's awards that will be given at our Delegate Assembly in April. There are so many deserving WEA members, I hope you will consider nominating a fellow member or members for these awards. All you have to do is go to the WEA web site, http://wyoea.org, fill out the nomination form, and send it back to Julie Schwindt at jschwindt@wyoea.org by January 23, 2017. Please consider nominating someone for the following seven awards. The Gold Key is the most prestigious award conveyed by the Wyoming Education Association. It is given to a member who has dedicated his/her life to education and service to the association. It is presented for extraordinary service that has contributed to the professional development of WEA and to the enhancement and advancement of education in the State of Wyoming. The recipient of this award will be recognized for his/her significant contributions to public education in Wyoming and leadership in the local, state and national education association. The WEA National Foundation for the Improvement of Education Award (NFIE) is presented to a member who demonstrates instructional expertise, creativity and innovation. The recipient of this award will be WEA's nominee for the National NFIE Award, which will be given at the NFIE Gala in Washington, DC, in 2018. The recipient of this award will be recognized for his/her instructional expertise, creativity, and innovation; advocacy on behalf of public education, students and education employees; community service; and commitment to professional development. The Education Support Professional of the Year Award will be presented to a WEA member whose activities reflect the contributions of education support professionals to public education. The purpose of the award is to recognize an ESP member who demonstrates outstanding accomplishments in his/her profession; community service; and involvement and leadership in the education association at the local, state and/or national levels. The award recipient will be WEA's nominee for the National Education Support Professional of the Year Award, which will be given at the 2018 ESP Conference. The Harriett "Liz" Byrd Award will be presented to a member or friend of education, individual or group, for outstanding contributions in the areas of human relations, multiculturalism and/or diversity in the field of education within the state of Wyoming. The Green Apple Award will be presented to members who contribute to environmental awareness. They will be recognized for the creativity of their project, its connection to education, the involvement of students, and benefits for students and their community. The Wyoming School Bell Award is presented to a representative of the news media for outstanding coverage of education news and issues. The Wyoming School Bell Award is an expression of appreciation for excellence in the field of news media pertaining to education in the state of Wyoming. The purpose of the Friend of Education Award is to recognize a person or persons who do not work in education, who have demonstrated evidence of exceptional service to educators, schools, and children of Wyoming.