The Cary Chamber of Commerce recently sponsored the 5th Annual Honor a Teacher Program at the Koko Booth Amphitheatre. This year, 22 Western Wake County Public School teachers were honored with $1,000 awards and trophies from sponsoring businesses.
The Honor a Teacher Program was created by Barry and DJ Mitsch of The Pyramid Resource Group, Inc., a corporate coaching company based in Cary. The first teaching award in Cary was the Discovery Award, established in the 1990’s by business leaders Ralph and Daphne Ashworth. Inspired by the Ashworths, Barry and DJ created the Clara Knoll Teaching Award in the year 2000 to honor Barry’s grandmother who taught for over 40 years in New Jersey. Clara passed away in 2005 at the age of 106.
The Honor a Teacher Program was established to encourage other area businesses to recognize public school teachers. As of this year, $112,000 has been awarded by businesses such as Progress Energy, SAS, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Time Warner Cable, KB Homes, and AT&T. The awards ceremony has become a premier event on the Cary Chamber calendar and this year over 400 people were in attendance.
“Teachers have the most difficult yet most important job in our community. We hope this recognition can help inspire our best teachers to stay in the profession,” said program co-founder Barry Mitsch of Pyramid.
Companies interested in being part of the program can contact Tiffanee Gwaltney at the Cary Chamber, 919-467-1016.
