| Teacher of the Year  Well-versed in career and technical education (CTE), Kevin English has taught nine different CTE curricula during his tenure as an educator. Currently at Peoria High School in Peoria, Arizona, English serves as the Industrial Education Department Chair. Programs offered at the high school in Industrial Education are Automotive Technology, Drafting and Design, Building Trades, Welding and Agricultural Science. In addition to serving as the department’s chair, he instructs in agricultural science and welding courses.
Within the Agricultural Science program, English instructs the Sports Turf Management course. One of only a handful in the nation, the course is the only of its kind offered in a high school setting in Arizona. During his ten years at Peoria High School, English began the building trades program, developed the curriculum and started the building trade’s chapter of Skills USA. He has also written and received grants over $250,000 for programs under his charge. English champions career and technical education student organizations. As an FFA advisor, his students have won competitions on the state, regional and national level. He has watched his students receive over $50,000 in scholarships and has placed many in local industry careers. An administrator comments, “Under the tutelage of Kevin English ordinary children become outstanding leaders every single day.” An advocate CTE, English is an active member of ACTE, Arizona ACTE, Arizona Association of Agricultural Teachers and many others. He has lobbied for CTE at the local, state and national levels. English has conducted numerous marketing campaigns designed to spread the good work about CTE and makes presentations to teachers encouraging them to become members of ACTE.
Outstanding Career and Technical Educator  Dedicated to the people of Roanoke, Virginia, Dr. Curtis B. Helmandollar devotes most of his time promoting the tenets of career and technical education (CTE). Currently, he is the Associate Administrator for Career and Technical Education for the Roanoke County School system. Helmandollar is also the Director of the Roanoke Area Tech Prep Consortium. Regardless of what position he holds, Helmandollar “motivates his students and associates to perform at their highest potential.”
Since 1991, Helmandollar has raised over $1.5 million in grant money for Tech Prep and CTE programs in his area. In the county’s Technical Center, he supervises the Special Education Program and special projects. In this position, Helmandollar has contributed to the development of a new Engineering Center. At the center, students from five area high schools attend a four year pre-engineering program. The students learn about machine technology, electronics, and other CTE subjects. The first class will graduate from the program this year. Helmandollar has been a member of ACTE for over 17 years. During this time, he has represented Virginia on the Region II Policy Committee. He has also made presentations at various state and national conferences. Outside of his experiences with ACTE, Helmandollar has directed, sponsored and hosted a twelve state regional Tech Prep conference in Roanoke, Virginia. Helmandollar has worked hard to improve the quality of CTE for over 30 years. His work has not gone unnoticed. One colleague notes: “Ben’s drive and dedication are unmatched by any professional with whom I have been associated...he always gives what it takes to get the job done...”
Outstanding New Career and Technical Teacher
 A farmer and a teacher, Betsy R. Jensen manages her time well to meet the growing demands of her career. She is responsible for crop marketing and record keeping at the family-operated Jensen Farms. Jensen is also a farm business management instructor at the Northland Community and Technical College. Jensen is known for her energy and devotion inside and outside of the classroom.
Jensen teaches Farm Business Management and Agricultural Commodity Marketing. Her programs are part time because they are tailored for full time farmers. Jensen’s curriculum is based on financial planning; the students’ livelihood depends on their success in the class. Jensen has cultivated various partnerships to encourage student enrollment. She recruits students on her own by using promotional tools like radio advertisements and weekly farm business management articles. Jensen is also responsible for suggesting a department-wide marketing program. She reviews and edits articles that are sent to publications across the Northern Plains. Jensen has been a member of ACTE for over five years. Highly involved in career and technical education, she is also a member of the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators, Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, and the Red River Valley Potato and Sugarbeet Growers Associations. Jensen is a very creative teacher. One colleague notes that “Betsy has a unique talent for presenting complex issues in a very understandable way, and for highlighting and reinforcing the key points that she wants growers to learn.”
Outstanding Teacher in Community Service
 Dawn Renee Gary uses her resources to help the people of Youngsville, Louisiana. A Family, Career and Community Leaders of America FCCLA) adviser and a Family and Consumer Science teacher, she has applied her twenty plus years of experience to improve her community. Gary instills in all her students that “service to humanity is the best work of life.”
Gary’s students participate in many community service activities including, planning and hosting workshops on Muscular Dystrophy, creating a Read Across America program, and raising money for Prevent Child Abuse America. However, Gary is especially proud of their participation in the “Annual Make a Difference Day” event. This event was produced by the Points of Light Foundation in order to demonstrate that one person can make a difference. From this event sprang “Fall Fest,” a student planned event filled with food, fun, and games. The students collaborated with other student organizations and invited children from local shelters and schools. The Fall Fest was a success and the students learned the importance of being a good citizen. Gary has devoted her time to ACTE for over eleven years. She has been an Awards Chair and a Parliamentarian for the Louisiana ACTE. Gary is also a very active member of the Louisiana Association Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences. She has received numerous awards from the organization including the Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Member Awards. Gary has made a long lasting impact on her community. One colleague states: “In and out of the classroom, Mrs. Gary possesses the gift of making students see how important and necessary it is to get involved in their community.”
Arch of Fame
 Scott Olsen has been an avid supporter and advocate of career and technical education for the past 36 years. He is the director of the CTE program at the Jordan School District in Salt Lake City, Utah. Olsen also supervises a secondary charter school, a prison education program, and the district’s adult high school. Though he has many responsibilities, Olsen is more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise.
Constantly striving for excellence, Olsen was the first in the state to place the most advanced technology labs in secondary schools. He was also the first CTE director to promote skills certification testing by awarding educators additional classroom funds based on test scores. The Jordan School District’s CTE program receives the highest marks in the state with the most up to date curriculum and resources available. Scott Olsen has been an asset to the Utah ACTE and ACTE for the past thirty-six years. At the state level, he serves on the CTE Funding, Skills Certification, and Job Placement sub-committees. Olsen mentors CTE Directors throughout the region. He encourages ACTE membership and participation by providing resources to support district CTE leaders and educators in attending the national convention. Olsen has been described as being a “demanding and fair, open and forgiving, visionary and traditional, cultured and fashionable...” His dedication to career and technical education has “established a legacy that is admired, often copied, idolized and respected.”
Award of Merit
 For over 35 years, Meta Kay West has dedicated her life to spreading the benefits of having a career and technical education. As a family and consumer science instructor at AbileneHigh School in Abilene, Kansas, she encouraged her students to do their best work. And as an independent consultant and writer for the Kirby House Restaurant, West continues to use her career and technical skills to attract local and national acclaim.
West began to reach out to her community by collaborating with a local newspaper editor. She created a monthly food column that included the interviews and recipes of area residents and various educational tips. The information she received from the monthly columns would later be used to create a booklet. West included the students of AbileneHigh School in the process. They have designed, published, and held a yearly reception for the cooks honored in the booklet for the past two years. In 2001, West published The Kirby House Cookbook. The cookbook was a local and national success. One critic wrote: “The Kirby House Cookbook goes way beyond what you would expect from the average cookbook. It gives you many wonderful ideas along with each recipe...and so many, many more special touches that make your meals memorable.” After the publication, her popularity increased as she began to facilitate cooking classes and presentations to various education based groups all over Kansas. As an ACTE member for 33 years, West continues to present new and interesting ways of using her career and technical abilities. She is able to hold the interest of each participant, regardless of the audience she attracts. As one of her colleagues states: “Meta West’s goal is to educate people about the integrated skills needed in the career and technical fields—math, science, history, communication and interpersonal proficiency—no matter what the venue.”
Outstanding Service
 For over 20 years, Ann Decker has earned the confidence of the students and colleagues of Timpview High School. She has advanced the necessity for career and technical education throughout the state of Utah. As the Work-based Learning Director for the Provo School District, Decker has the ability to bring out the best in her students.
Decker is able to direct her energy and enthusiasm for career and technical education in different ways. Because of her grant writing initiatives, Timpview High School was fortunate to receive an Executive Technology Center with 42 computer stations. When she is not advising her students on career choices, Decker makes presentations on topics including work-based learning, technology/software, and leadership skills. Decker has been a champion for career and technical education outside of the classroom as well. During her time as the president of UACTE, she created a new division for Work-Based Learning. Decker has been the ACTE Region V chairperson for the Nominations Committee and has been on the Region V Resolutions Committee. ACTE members around the country should be familiar with Decker, as she was a presenter at the past two national conventions and is currently on the Bylaws Committee. Decker’s mark can best be seen in her students: “Ms. Decker inspires her students to reach within themselves and put forth their best effort. Her enthusiasm ignites her student’s desire to excel. They are motivated because they know their efforts will not go unnoticed...She possesses a genuine desire to see everyone succeed.”  Jerry Shipp has helped students reach their full potential for over 33 years. He started his vocational career as a Marketing teacher. He is now the CTE director for the Texarkana, Arkansas School District and the Texarkana Area Vocational Center. Shipp has devoted most of his life to improving the quality of career and technical education in his district and throughout Arkansas.
In his hometown of Texarkana, Arkansas, Shipp works with middle and high school students on various programs. In 1997, he introduced a proposal that would later turn into a student operated television program called Razorback TV. Shipp also worked on the 9th Grade Academy, a program established to improve test scores and to better assist students with their career and educational choices. Shipp has been a life member of ACTE since 1981. He has been very active in both the Arkansas and national ACTE. Shipp was awarded the ACTE Region IV Educator of the Year award for 1999-2000. He is also a former state association president. Shipp’s devotion to career and technical education is felt by students and peers alike. One colleague comments: “Dr. Shipp has been a true leader in the field of career and technical education in Arkansas...He always strives to ‘think outside the box’ and searches for ways to improve, modernize, and advance his programs, while constantly keeping the focus on his students.”
Awards for Excellence-Automotive Service 2005
El Campo Career & Technical Center, El Campo, TX
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL
KirkwoodCommunity College, Cedar Rapids, IA | 
