FOUR TO RECEIVE CHAMBER EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Given the right opportunity, all students can find some area in which they succeed, says Barbara Lohr.

Lohr is one of four teachers to be honored as Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce 1996 Educators of the Year. In addition to Lohr, a high school office technology teacher at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School, honorees are Richard B. Giles, Charles Clippard School principal; Mary Ann Lewis, a first-grade teacher at May Greene School; and Shelby Shell, a mathematics teacher at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High.

The Educators of the Year will be honored at a dinner May 2 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. Honorees receive a $500 cash award and a crystal apple of recognition.

In her application, Lohr said, "I believe that education is a privilege and that every person -- whether you're young or old -- has the right to take advantage of that privilege."

Giles, who has over 35 years of experience in education, said learning has always been a joy for him. "I hope I have transmitted that joy to those I have served," he said.

"I feel that my entire career has been enhanced with each new experience undertaken," Giles said. "The challenge has been extremely exciting and rewarding for me, and I hope for those I have worked with as well. I look forward to the future as I know there are other challenges ahead."

Lewis, an educator for 15 years, said she thinks of herself as a rock thrown into a still lake. Her lake is May Greene School. "The ripple that I make is one that is born of love of children and a wish that they will become productive members of society," she said.

"I instill in my children a love of reading and a thirst for knowledge. I teach them to be kind and loving and to share with others. I do this by example."

Lewis said her greatest rewards are listening to children read and observing their kindness to others.

Shell has taught eighth- and ninth-grade math for over 38 years.

"Each student is a deserving human being who is entitled to expect honesty and fairness from teachers," she said. "Students should be able to expect that teachers are well-informed in the subject-matter field. Each teacher is also a deserving human being who is entitled to expect honesty and fairness from students."

Shell said a teacher must make himself or herself worthy of respect and then demand it.

This is the third year the chamber has honored local educators. Kathy Swan, chairman of the chamber's education committee, said the awards focus on excellence in education.

"Business sees the need to become actively involved in education and education sees the need to become involved with business," Swan said. "The chamber wants to recognize local educators for their efforts and the role they play in our community."

The Educators of the Year Awards Dinner is open to the public. For reservations, contact Linda Minner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, at 335-3312.