About 500 area teachers attended the 121st district meeting of the Missouri State Teachers Association Friday at the Show Me Center.

The MSTA is the oldest and largest professional organization in the state. The meeting is held annually to allow members of the organization to conduct group business and attend seminars.

Stan Bandermann, outgoing president, said usually attendance at the event is several thousand people rather than several hundred. Many teachers were unable to attend the meeting because school was in session.

"We definitely hurt when schools are in session," he said. "Most schools in the area missed a lot of days on account of snow or bad weather, and they made up a day today. That definitely hurt our attendance."

Astronaut Linda Godwin was the keynote speaker for the event. She spoke about her memories as a student in the area and showed slides relating to her last assignment on the space shuttle.

"There's no end in sight when you're working with the space program," Godwin said. "We have to keep looking to the future. This future is what you're touching right now with what you're teaching in your classrooms."

Bandermann said the annual meeting helps teachers look toward the future by providing information on issues important to educators. Legislative concerns are discussed at various times, he said, and resolutions are passed on to legislative delegates at the state level.

"This year doesn't seem to be as significant as in years past," he said. "We are keeping an eye on where the desegregation monies are going. We want to make sure outstate Missouri gets its fair share of the stake."

Several educators were honored for their work and service during the meeting. Alfrieda Delores Richards from Potosi schools and JoAnn Hahs from Oak Ridge schools were honored as outstanding Community Teacher Association leaders.

Honored for meritorious service to education in Southeast Missouri were: Dr. Robert Buchanan, Sikeston schools superintendent; Dr. Robert Herring, associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration and counseling and director of field experiences at Southeast Missouri State University; Shelby Ann Shell, retired mathematics teacher from Cape Girardeau schools; and Dr. Jerry Louis Waddle, superintendent of Dexter schools.

A long-time tradition of the meeting is the Eighth Congressional District High School Art Competition. There were more than 250 entries in the contest this year. They were judged by Southeast Missouri State University art students, and the winner will be displayed in the United States Capitol for one year.