Donna Talerico didn’t need counseling during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Monongalia County Board of Education.
Even if she was slightly emotional.
Either way, the county’s assistant superintendent of schools was in the right place.
That’s because most of the seats in the board’s meeting office on South High Street were full of such professionals from across the district.
They were there to applaud Talerico, who received the 2019 Educator of the Year Award from the West Virginia School Counselor Association.
And when they finished with the applause for her, they added accolades to their colleague Anna Simmons, of Eastwood Elementary.
She was recognized with School Counselor of the Year from the association.
Talerico did require a couple of tissues to get her through the BOE’s brief recognition ceremony.
“This is a special group of people,” she said, dabbing tears and gesturing toward the audience.
“They care about our kids. We’re fortunate in this county.”
The fortune continued for North Elementary’s Ryan Wamsley.
He was recognized for his recent achievement as West Virginia’s Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year for 2019-20.
Board member Nancy Walker said she was impressed by Talerico and Simmons, long known for their expertise in their field.
Wamsley, too, she said.
He was a competitive runner who re-invented himself as a teacher after a back injury took him away from his sport.
“We’re on the shoulders of giants here,” she said.
Mon Schools Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr., meanwhile, recognized Sen. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, the longtime state lawmaker who announced Monday he wouldn’t seek reelection after more than 30 years in public service.
Prezioso is a former teacher and school administrator who began his career in education in Monongalia County.
“He’s been a real friend to our district and to north-central West Virginia,” Campbell said.
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