Correspondent photo / John Patrick Gatta The winners of the five Mahoning Valley Educator of the Year awards share some laughs with event founder Josh MacMillan, center, at the conclusion of Tuesday’s dinner. From left are Hubbard teacher Kayla Welsh, Secondary Educator of the Year (grades 7-12); Sebring teacher Nicole Mathias, Educator of the Year; Niles teacher Carol Pantellis, Early Educator of the Year (grades kindergarten-6th); LaBrae teacher Christine Meeks, Golden Educator of the Year (20 or more years); and Lordstown teacher Maria Mangine, Young Educator of the Year (10 years or less).

NILES — Celebrating those who inspire and teach future generations, the second annual Mahoning Valley Educators of the Year Honors Dinner brought together 42 honorees from Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties Tuesday night at the Eastwood Event Centre.

Nearly 400 educators, administrators and community leaders attended the event.

Created and coordinated by Hubbard Exempted Village School District art educator Josh MacMillan, in partnership with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, he acted as master of ceremonies.

In his opening speech, MacMillan pointed out to all in attendance that despite five educators receiving additional accolades, they are all equally important.

“Do not leave here thinking for one single minute that you are not an amazing human being, an amazing teacher, whose passion and your love doesn’t reach across every aspect of your classroom,” MacMillan said.

“As a father of three, the greatest thing that I can do is entrust my children with somebody else to keep them safe, to help them grow, to be a positive influence on them throughout their life. For anybody to leave you with that responsibility, that is the greatest gift.

“You are not just a teacher. You’re not just an art teacher, You are not just a band director. You’re not just an intervention specialist. You are not just a counselor. You are somebody who shows up every single day with love and passion in your heart with the intent to try to make every child in this Valley a better version of themselves,” MacMillan added.

To choose Tuesday night’s educators, a letter of appreciation — written by an administrator, colleague or parent — was submitted with any identifying information blacked out so that they were read anonymously by a panel that then made selections based on merit. Each honoree received a red marble apple on a pedestal in recognition for their positive impact on students.

The event concluded with five educators receiving special distinction and a golden apple for their dedication to their students:

• Educator of the Year — Nicole Mathias, Sebring Local Schools.

• Secondary Educator of the Year (grades 7-12) — Kayla Welsh, Hubbard Local Schools.

• Early Educator of the Year (kindergarten-6) — Carol Pantelis, Niles City Schools.

• Golden Educator of the Year (20 or more years of service) — Christine Meeks, LaBrae Local Schools.

• Young Educator of the Year (10 years of experience or less) — Maria Mangine, Lordstown Local Schools.

In a brief speech, Mathias not only acknowledged everyone in the room for their work, but displayed her devotion to her students.

“First of all, I want to congratulate all of you in the room,” she said, “but I also have to make this special announcement because one of my former students is here, being honored as well. As teachers, I don’t know if there’s any greater gift. I kept telling my husband, ‘Ryan’s (Burd) going to be here. Ryan’s going to be here.’ So Ryan, I have to give a huge shout out to you because it’s students like you that give me the drive every day to do what I want and to do what I love.”

Burd, a United Local Schools nominee, graduated from Sebring in 2003.

Mathias added, “Truthfully, I can’t wait to see my kids tomorrow. They’re going to freak out.”

Welsh, who has taught at Hubbard High School for eight years, described receiving her award as “incredible.”

She continued, “Being a teacher has been in my dream my whole life. When I was little. I asked for an overhead projector for Christmas. On my birthday, we would go to Teaching Tools in Niles, and I’d get a new periodic table for the wall. So, this all feels like a dream come true, and to be in a room with such incredible humans who have given so much to others, it’s humbling. It’s outstanding.”

Carol Pantelis, a kindergarten teacher with 42 years of experience overall, stated, “The event was wonderful to acknowledge all of the professional educators. I’m just truly humbled by being selected. I thought we were just going to come here, just to get acknowledged as professional educators. I didn’t know there were categories of winners to be selected, but I think we all are deserving of any award because we all work hard. Our goal is to make a difference in the world with these kids.”

Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, congratulated all the educators and reminded them that their work aids the economic future of the Mahoning Valley.

“It’s comforting to know that you are preparing our youth,” he said.

Besides being recognized for their work, Sam Huston, Mahoning Valley market president and senior vice president at Huntington Bank, announced that, through its Ignite the Classroom initiative, the bank will sponsor the five winners to take part in the nonprofit Ron Clark Academy’s yearlong professional development program that includes training at its Atlanta headquarters.

The Ron Clark Academy is a nonprofit middle school and educator professional development facility founded in 2007 by Ron Clark and Kim Bearden. The academy also serves as a demonstration school where visiting educators observe best practices in action before participating in hands-on workshops focused on student engagement, academic excellence, relationship-building and creating a positive school climate and culture.

Through its professional development programs, the Ron Clark Academy aims to extend its impact beyond its own students and into classrooms across the country. According to the academy, more than 150,000 superintendents, district-level administrators and teachers have participated in its training experiences.

“Great teachers change the trajectory of young lives,” Huston said. “Educators don’t often get the time or opportunity to step away, collaborate with peers and sharpen their craft. We’re proud to invest in this experience at the Ron Clark Academy because when teachers grow, our students and our region grow with them.”

In an earlier interview, MacMillan said, “Hearing the stories of all these amazing people inspires me to continue to do more and I hope it does that for everybody in that room. As educators, we invest so much in our children, and we just hope somewhere down the road the lessons we’ve tried to give them, whether they are in the subject that we teach or the life lessons we work on in the classroom, will one day pay off.”

The other nominees were:

• Tim Ritter, Austintown

• Amy Wolski, Beaver Local

• Nancy Sampson, Bloomfield-Mespo

• Melanie Oberle, Boardman

• Mary Arp, Brookfield

• Annette Tovarnek, Campbell Impact Academy

• Jeremy Hamilton, Canfield

• Maureen Kandray, Cardinal Mooney High School

• Maria Magiassos, Champion

• Madison Kurtz, Columbiana

• Ryan McCullough, East Palestine

• Donna Melanson, Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio

• Eric Pellegrini, Girard

• Jeanne Reyes, Jackson-Milton

• Carrie Schlastt, Lakeview

• Emily Rodik, Leetonia

• Carrie Smith, Lisbon

• Laraine Matisi, Lowellville

• Lisa Schiraldi-Argiro, Mahoning County Career & Technical Center

• David Ottney, Mathews

• Lora Sembach, Newton Falls

• Michelle Landers, Poland

• Cynthia Maynard, South Range

• Elizabeth Fink, Springfield

• Kevin Dailey, Struthers

• Anthony Savric, Trumbull Career & Technical Center

• Ryan Burd, United Local

• Lisa Devlin, Ursuline High School

• Danielle Sample, Valley Christian Schools

• Brandy Scarmack, Warren City Schools

• Matthew Green, Warren John F. Kennedy

• Scott Yeagley, Weathersfield

• Kathleen Menegay, West Branch

• Carla Duda, Western Reserve

• Saedah Hadi, Youngstown City Schools

• Jennifer Ciocca, Youngstown Community School