Williams Comfort Air will begin accepting nominations for teachers as part of its ExtraordinAIRy Treasures program on Sunday, September 18, 2011. We will honor six ExtraordinAIRy Teachers (two elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high school teachers), each receiving a $500 cash award and $500 donation to their school.

You may know a teacher who has gone above and beyond in helping a child learn, possibly through adapting teaching styles to reach the child, or who has a unique way of reaching students and a desire to help every student, no matter how difficult. Students may know a teacher who has reached out to them and helped them learn life lessons as well as educational lessons. This can be a way to say “thanks” and let our Central Indiana teachers know that they are appreciated.

Last year’s ExtraordinAIRy Treasure Teacher Awards were presented to: Kimberly Kasal, a 4th grade teacher at Eagle Elementary School in Zionsville; Tammy Hoersten, a special needs teacher from Chapelwood Elementary School on the West Side; Cattina Memmer, a 6th grade teacher at Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy on the South Side; Laurie Russo, a business and ENL (English as a New Language) teacher at Westfield High School; James Ratliff, a drafting and architecture teacher at Roncalli High School; and Brooke Tharp, a special needs teacher at Mt. Vernon High School.

Teachers in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties can be nominated.

We would appreciate you sharing this information with local schools, students of all ages, PTOs, churches, neighbors, families, co-workers and friends.

Nominations will be accepted through November 30, 2011.

Go here and sign-up. http://extraordinairytreasures.com/blood-drive-sign-up

Blood Drive Information

Date: Wednesday June 29, 2011
Start Time: 6:30 AM
End Time: 2:00 PM
Where: Williams Comfort Air Parking Lot
Address: 1077 3rd Avenue SW; Carmel, IN 46032

About Michael 

Michael was diagnosed with cancer… Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in May 2007. He was a fighter and lived life to the fullest. After undergoing five chemotherapy treatments, he was found cancer-free in December 2007. However, after relapsing in January 2008, Michael lost his battle with cancer on May 25, 2008, just days before his 20th birthday. He fought until the very end – leaving emptiness in our hearts that can never be filled. Michael has inspired his family, friends, and others to be fighters in times that we could easily be discouraged.

Williams Comfort Air and Metzler’s Mr. Plumber are pleased to announce the recipients of our 2011 ExtraordinAIRy Treasures scholarships. Our five person committee glimpsed into the lives of 150 nominees representing 50 Central Indiana high schools and selected fifteen ExtraordinAIRy Treasures. Each of these ExtraordinAIRy Treasures will receive a one-time $1,000 ExtraordinAIRy Treasures scholarship.

The 2011 ExtraordinAIRy Treasures Scholarship recipients are:

Alexandra Kapsalis (Fishers); Andres Duarte (Arsenal Technical); Ashly Fisher (Roncalli); Brittany Means (Martinsville); Deonte Brown (McKenzie Career Center/Lawrence North); Deyanira Hernandez (Lawrence Central); Ebony Peck (Decatur Central); Eric McDowell (Central Nine Career Center/Whiteland); John Heigl (Zionsville); Kameron James (Pike); Kevin Anderson (In Grace Home Educators); Stanton Wilhite (Cathedral); Taylor Peters (Southport); Trent Rhoades (Whiteland); and Zachary Hardin (Park Tudor)

We will hold an awards ceremony for these fifteen graduates, their parents/guardians, nominators, and references in the near future. Stay tuned to our blog as we will be posting individual bios on each of these ExtraordinAIRy Treasures.

The committee was honored to learn about each and every one of the 150 seniors that you nominated! As we read these essays, our feelings once again road a roller coaster: pride and awe in the selfless service given by so many; inspiration from and tears for the difficult life circumstances some of these young people have persevered; joy for those who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and made a u-turn during high school to be successful. Each of these young people are ExtraordinAIRy Treasures. 

Thanks to all who nominated a senior, “friended” us on Facebook, spread the word about these scholarships, and most importantly are encouraging and supporting these young people today. We look forward to continuing the ExtraordinAIRy Treasures Scholarships for the Class of 2012.

Please keep following us as we honor other ExtraordinAIRy Treasures in the future. We will once again look to you to nominate your ExtraordinAIRy Treasures and spread the word.

We will continue to accept reference essays through April 15th. Follow-up requests will be sent to those who have not yet responded.

Keep an eye here on our website or on our Facebook page for the announcement of the 2011 ExtraordinAIRy Treasures Scholarship recipients! The announcement will be made in early May.

Arsenal Technical, Avon, Ben Davis, Bishop Chatard, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Cardinal Ritter, Carmel, Cathedral, Fishers, Franklin Central, Greenwood Community, Hamilton Southeastern, Heritage Christian, Indian Creek, Lawrence North, Lebanon, McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, Mooresville, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine, Noblesville, Pacers Academy, Pendleton Heights, Pike, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Southport, Southwestern, Speedway, Whiteland, and Zionsville

We haven’t heard from

Boone County: Western Boone
Hamilton County: Hamilton Heights, Guerin, Sheridan, Westfield
Hancock County: Eastern Hancock, Greenfield Central
Hendricks County: Brownsburg, Danville, Plainfield
Johnson County: All High Schools Represented!
Madison County: Alexandria, Anderson, Elwood, Frankton-Lapel, South Madison
Marion County: Scecina, New Beginnings, Covenant Christian, Perry Meridian, Decatur Central, Lutheran, North Central
Morgan County: H Robert Hammons School, Monrovia
Shelby County:  Shelby Eastern, Triton Central, Walden
 

If you have friends in these areas, please share the news about these scholarships!

Call…Email…Facebook…Twitter… there are so many ways to spread the word. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Do you know me?
During my freshman and sophomore years, I just didn’t understand the importance of education and doing my best in school. I was more interested in hanging out with friends and playing video games. Well, my junior year I came to my senses and really started to work hard at school. I really excelled and got nothing lower than a “B” during my junior and senior years! Guess what. I had already sealed my fate when it comes to scholarships by sinking my GPA when I was a freshman and sophomore.

Do you know me?
I’m really shy and quiet, I don’t do a lot with the in-crowd, and I don’t do so great with grades. I’ve got a lot of friends though, and they all seem to come to me when they need to talk about something that’s wrong. I really seem to be able to help people when they’re having problems. I think that being a social worker would be a great thing for me to do, but I really could use some financial help. But I’m just not made of that stuff it takes to get scholarships… grades or athletics.

Do you know me?
I am not a good student in traditional high school classes, but I am a great student at my Career Center. I just don’t get things when I read them. I really struggle with academics. But if you need your car worked on, my instructor says that I’m one of the best students he’s had. I feel good about my mechanical skills and want to become a certified automotive technician. I really could use some help to continue my education as an automotive technician. But there don’t seem to be any scholarships out there for students like me.

Do you know me?
I’ve done very well in school; I am a hard worker; I do a lot for my community; I’m involved in sports; and I’m going to graduate in the top 10% of my class. But I think probably the top 2% of the class will walk away with the scholarships. I really could use some financial help.

Nominations from…
Arsenal Technical, Avon, Ben Davis, Bishop Chatard, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Cardinal Ritter, Carmel,Cathedral, Fishers, Franklin Central, Greenwood Community, Hamilton Southeastern, Heritage Christian, Indian Creek, Lawrence North, Lebanon, McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, Mooresville, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine, Noblesville, Pacers Academy, Pendleton Heights, Pike, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Southport, Southwestern, Speedway, Whiteland, Zionsville

With three weeks left, we have heard from 40 % of the eligible high schools…

Avon, Ben Davis (8), Bishop Chatard, Cardinal Ritter (2), Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood Community (3), Indian Creek, Lawrence North, Lebanon (2),  McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, Mooresville, Mt. Vernon (2), New Palestine, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Pike (2), Roncalli, Southeastern (2), Speedway

When you nominate a senior, you will be asked for references. Each reference will be contacted to write an additional essay in order to provide the ExtraordinAIRy Treasures Scholarship Committee with an overall picture of who the student is. Please don’t delay in submitting your nomination so that the references have an opportunity to respond berfore April 1st.

Every high school has at least one ExtraordinAIRy Treasure to our future. We hope to hear about yours soon!

Avon, Ben Davis (8), Bishop Chatard, Cardinal Ritter (2), Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood Community (3), Indian Creek, Lawrence North, Lebanon (2),  McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, Mooresville, Mt. Vernon (2), New Palestine, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Pike (2), Roncalli, Southeastern (2), Speedway

We hope to hear about your ExtraordinAIRy Treasure to our future soon!

Williams Comfort Air and Metzler’s Mr. Plumber are excited to once again present a scholarship opportunity to Central Indiana seniors. Fifteen (15) one-time scholarships totaling $15,000 will be awarded to high school seniors who are seen as ExtraordinAIRy Treasures to our future. These students will have demonstrated ExtraordinAIRy life skills such as community service, overcoming obstacles, leadership activities, and family commitment. Students from Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties who will enroll in a university, community college, or vocational/trade school upon graduation can be nominated. There are no requirements for GPA or career choice.

Fifteen $1,000 scholarships will be awarded based on an essay (approximately 400-words), submitted by anyone, such as a parent, teacher, counselor, neighbor, friend, or employer. Essays should convey why this high school senior is an ExtraordinAIRy Treasure to our future by including an overview of the nominee’s life skills in action such as integrity, kindness, perseverance, selflessness, and commitment to community to name a few. In addition, each nomination must include two additional references from adults who interact with the student in either academic or extracurricular activities. Williams Comfort Air will accept nominations through April 1, 2011.

A Williams Comfort Air committee will determine the fifteen scholarship recipients. ExtraordinAIRy Treasures Scholarship recipients will be announced in mid-May.

Nominate an “ExtraordinAIRy” student in your community today by clicking the Nominate Student button to the right.

Each of these extraordinAIRy teachers will receive a $500 cash award, dinner at Keltie’s in Westfield, and their school will receive a matching $500 contribution to the school’s educational fund.

Kimberly Kasal, a 4th grade teacher at Eagle Elementary School in Zionsville, was nominated by one of her students… a nomination from a 4th grade student – pretty amazing! Her student wrote, “Mrs. Kasal has inspired me over the years to learn whatever I can whenever I can so I can grow up to be a  smart person…“ Please continue reading about Kimberly below.

Tammy Hoersten, a Special Needs teacher from Chapelwood Elementary School on the West Side, was nominated by many people including the principal, a parent of a former student, and several co-workers… also pretty amazing!  In the words of the principal, “Mrs. Hoersten is an exceptional teacher!  She works with approximately ten students who have the most significant learning needs from five surrounding schools… Mrs. Hoersten develops an individualized education plan for each child and sets high expectations for their achievement… “Please continue reading about Tammy below.

Cattina Memmer, a 6th grade teacher at Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy on the South Side, was nominated by a co-worker who wrote, “Mrs. Memmer is an outstanding teacher, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. She brings personal stories to the classroom at every opportunity to engage the students and excite them about learning… “Please continue reading about Cattina below.

Laurie Russo, a business and ENL (English as a New Language) teacher at Westfield High School, was nominated by a co-worker who wrote, “Mrs. Russo is an exceptional teacher.  Her enthusiasm and radiant personality shines in her classroom.  She genuinely cares about her students’ learning and them personally.  Everyday she sets her sights on making a positive difference in her students’ lives and she does… “Please continue reading about Laurie below.

James Ratliff, a drafting and architecture teacher at Roncalli High School, was nominated by a student… how awesome!  His student wrote, “Mr. James “Captain” Ratliff is without question the greatest teacher I have ever had in my schooling career. His devotion to his students, work ethic, and his faith are without compare. He has been vigorously teaching our school’s drafting and architecture program for 45 years…“ Please continue reading about James below.

Brooke Tharp, a Special Needs teacher at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville, was nominated by two of her co-workers. One wrote, “Many of her students need help transitioning from high school directly to the real world. Brooke has a heart of gold. She takes each student’s unique needs and guides them in a way that only someone with her passion and understanding could.” Please continue reading about Brooke below.

Thanks to all who nominated a teacher, “friended” us on Facebook, followed us on Twitter, spread the word about this opportunity, and most importantly, are personally expressing your appreciation to our local educators.

Please keep following us as we will begin accepting nominations for our 2011 ExtraordinAIRy Treasures scholarships in the very near future.

Please continue reading about our 2010 extraordinAIRy teachers.

Kimberly Kasal 

In the words of her student, “Mrs. Kasal has inspired me over the years to learn whatever I can whenever I can so I can grow up to be a  smart person… Whenever we accomplish alot, we do somthing special. Mrs. Kasal believes that if it’s worth learning, it’s worth celebrating. So we celebrate… Mrs. Kasal has fun (and often hilarious) ways to teach us lessons that we will remember for life, things that will be important in the future. We once went outside and threw water balloons and bouncy balls at the school wall. She did this to teach us to bounce back at hard things, don’t explode and give up like water balloons. We don’t have punishments, we have three cards that we use, one being exellence, one reflect, and one adjust. Exellence means we set our goals and succeeded, therefore having a good day. If something goes wrong than we will flip a card, to reflect, and that means we need to reflect on our behavior and think about what we did wrong. The next step is adjust, where you do something wrong again, or do somethind really bad. It means to think about what you have done, how it has affected others, and how it has affected you. Then you adjust your behavior. At the end of the day, if everyone is on exellence, we have a dance party, where Mrs. Kasal uses her iPod to get some tunes going an we get to dance freestyle… Mrs. Kasal is awesome!”

The Eagle Elementary School Principal wrote, ” I am proud to have Kim Kasal as a teacher in our school, Eagle Elementary.  Kim has brought so much energy, knowledge and love of teaching to us.  Students begin each day setting personal goals for the day.  I have never seen the level of engagement Mrs. Kasal’s students have for their work and their growth.  Her students realize their growth is a reflection of their work and choices.  She provides them every avenue for success… Achievement data shows that all of her students are successful.  High growth is achieved by each student. Kim’s students often stop me to tell me the exciting work she is having them do.  They always share their excitment about what they are learning.  They take great pride in how well they do.  More importantly, Mrs. Kasal’s students look our for each other and for other students.  They are a friend and support to any and everyone.  Her students learn so much about life – they are all going to be successful.”

Another student’s parent wrote, “She has high expectations for all of her students and teaches them tools that lead to life long learning.  Instead of having classroom rules, she teaches her students the 8 Keys of Excellence.  These keys provide intrinsic motivation for learning and living a purposeful, rewarding life.  The 8 Keys are Integrity, Failure Leads to Success, Speak with Good Purpose, This Is It, Commitment, Ownership, Flexibility and Balance.”

Tammy Hoersten

In the words of the principal, “Mrs. Hoersten is an exceptional teacher!  She works with approximately ten students who have the most significant learning needs from five surrounding schools… Mrs. Hoersten develops an individualized education plan for each child and sets high expectations for their achievement… Mrs. Hoersten is very optimistic and does whatever is needed to ensure that her students receive the very best education.  She facilitates fundraisers and writes grants to obtain much needed equipment and technology for students.  She works with community members to arrange educational field trips to grocery stores, farms, museums, and restaurants.  She researches summer camps and childcare facilities to find resources for our students and their families when school is not in session.  Mrs. Hoersten even volunteers to provide childcare on the weekends to give our parents a much needed break to run errands or have dinner out with their spouse.” 

A parent of a former student added, “She went beyond the call of duty when she watched both of our daughters so we could attend the Brickyard 400. She became extraordinary in my mind one day when Allison suffered a seizure at school. Mrs. Hoersten had just completed training on recognizing signs of a seizure and how to respond. She followed her training, summoned the nurse immediately, called for the ambulance,rode along to Riley Hospital, and stayed there until my husband and I arrived to brief us on what happened at school. It was such a relief to us!”

A co-worker wrote, “Working with special needs students can be very challenging and a normal day entails that we not only meet the educational demands of the student, but often the emotional, relational, and physical needs of the family as well.  Tammy has given of her own time to provide childcare to a family in need of respite.  She tutors, free of charge, a former student with the hope that he will one day obtain a driver’s license.  She has given up afternoons to train students for the Special Olympics and provided transportation home for them afterwards. ”

Cattina Memmer

Her nominator wrote, “Mrs. Memmer is an outstanding teacher, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. She brings personal stories to the classroom at every opportunity to engage the students and excite them about learning… Previous to teaching, Mrs. Memmer was in the Marine Corps. She relates many core values learned in the military to the classroom setting. She relates family stories concerning behaviors, homework, and studying, as well as family problems and solutions to her students’ lives. She is always there to listen to her students’ problems, offering advice when needed, but more often guiding them to think things through to make their own wise choices. She is in touch with her students’ parents often, calling them when she senses frustration on the part of the student,or about homework issues, and she writes a daily blog so that parents can check in and know exactly what is happening in her classroom... Both inside and outside the classroom, Mrs. Memmer is always exhuberant and exciting!!  She believes humor is a major ingredient to active learning, using it as often as possible. She expects quality work and ethics from her students, co-workers, and family, as well as herself! “Another co-worker wrote, “What makes Cattina most amazing to me is what is going on in her personal life. She and her husband have 3 children ranging in age from 14 to 9. Unfortunately, a friend of their 14 year old son was having a very difficult time and was going to be placed in foster care.  The Memmer Family just could not let that happen, so as a family, they made the decision to become his legal guardians. That just shows how loving and selfless she is and passes those qualities on to her children.”

Laurie Russo 

Her co-worker wrote, “Mrs. Russo is an exceptional teacher.  Her enthusiasm and radiant personality shines in her classroom.  She genuinely cares about her students’ learning and them personally.  Everyday she sets her sights on making a positive difference in her students’ lives and she does.  An example of this is her relationship with a young man who is struggling… She now works with him after school during bonus period with his assignments, contacts his other teachers to receive missing work and test dates, and talks with him about making wise decisions and setting life goals. Since she has worked with him, I have noticed a great improvement in his school work, organizational skills, and attitude.”

Another co-worker wrote, “…Every day I learn something new from her and her creative teaching methods.  She has helped me develop courses, alter grading strategies, create hands on learning activities and projects, and address touchy issues with specific students… This year Laurie had the opportunity to teach a class of English language learners. She has kids from Cambodia, Spain, Mexico and a number of other countries.  Laurie’s room is a safe haven for this kids who might sometime feel like outcasts in a school consisting of predominately white students.  I have seen these kids open up to Laurie, share fears and dreams, and confide in her.  They are comfortable and feel like they belong to a group in her classroom. The little acts of kindness speak volumes to these kids. Laurie has bought them all matching t-shirts, taken pictures of the group, and framed the picture in magnetic frames to place in each student’s locker.  Her ideas behind this are that, “every time they open their locker they can remember they have a place in this school, my room!”  

James Ratliff

His student wrote, “Mr. James “Captain” Ratliff is without question the greatest teacher I have ever had in my schooling career. His devotion to his students, work ethic, and his faith are without compare. He has been vigorously teaching our school’s drafting and architecture program for 45 years, and has inspired hundreds to pursue careers in these fields. He shows up for work every single day with a smile on his face and compassion in his voice. Whenever a student, whether the best or the worst, is struggling to make a deadline or solve a problem, he will devote all his efforts to helping them through class and even after school until the student has been helped to the fullest.

Mr. Ratliff could very easily be one of the top rated architects for this region, and still does manage to schedule in his own projects along with a full time teaching job, however he has chosen to focus his efforts and time into furthering the education and skills of the students in our program. Occasionally he will stay after school has ended up to and including 5 hours just to help a single student with their work. He comes into his work on our holiday breaks in case anybody happens to needs help. The only thing that stands in front of his students is his family, but aside from them he is whole-heartedly devoted to the students he teaches.

High school can be exceptionally challenging for some people, and sometimes school can get to a student. Captain Ratliff will always know when a student is having a issue, and will help them in any and all ways he is able. He will always ask if a student is troubled if he believes so, because for him no student is in anyway unworthy of a helping hand. If a particular student just does not understand the material, but is trying their best efforts to do so, he will personally make sure that the student receives a grade not solely based on the material, but also on the effort.

Captain Ratliff has inspired me and helped to show me the way to my future career as an architect, but has also helped me through High School. He has shown me an example of how to live a full, honest, faith-filled life, and has also showed me how to better not only myself but those around me.”

Brooke Tharp

One co-worker stated, “As a teacher she officially works 7:50AM to 2:50PM… she oversees 4 resource teachers, 8 assistants, 150 resource students… I see the communication begin before dawn to solve transportation woes and last minute schedule changes. Each of which is handle decisively and with care, all before first bell tone has been heard. The day seems to speed by with everyone’s different needs pulling her in another direction. Then she seems to change pace to address the concerns of the day, never complaining as her day turns into night… She teaches 3 special language classes,  credit recovery classes, has parent’s conferences, meets state mandates, sits on the attendance council, does Best Buddies, Core 40 proctor, and recognizes the challenges of students with one goal in mind, a “DIPLOMA”.  Note that for some this seems like catching Moby Dick.”

Another co-worker wrote, “Many of her students need help transitioning from high school directly to the real world. Brooke has a heart of gold. She takes each student’s unique needs and guides them in a way that only someone with her passion and understanding could.”

In the words of the Assistant Director of Special Education, “Brooke Tharp has sixteen years experience as a special educator teacher.  Brooke is in the top one percent of special educator’s that I have had the privilege to supervise.  Her expertise is commendable in all areas of professional performance.  Her colleagues, administrators, parents and students hold her in high esteem… Her creative problem solving has resulted in significant improvements to the special education program at the high school. For the past two years Brooke has initiated a Recoup, Recover, & Reward block that has supported student’s efforts in earning credits.  The increased number of credits earned is noteworthy.  Brooke has added a Developmental Reading/Language Lab block to coincide with a collaborative English 9 course.  This allows students to work on grade-level material with an additional period to improve skill deficits.“