Clover teacher wins Presidential award; Fort Mill grad wins national contest
Each month, The Herald shares accomplishments from the York County region. Here are the highlights:
Clover teacher receives presidential award
Patricia Smith was chosen in October as a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
The award is the nation’s highest honor for K-12 teachers of mathematics, computer science, engineering, technology or science, according to the award website. The program honors up to 108 teachers each year.
“Awardees reflect the expertise and dedication of the Nation’s teaching corps, and they demonstrate the positive impact of excellent teachers on student achievement,” reads the Presidential Award website.
Smith teaches fifth grade math at Bethel Elementary School in Clover. Smith has taught for 26 years, according to her biography on the Presidential Award website.
She earned her bachelor’s in education from Iowa State University and a master’s in education from the University of Phoenix, according to the biography.
Smith was named Clover’s 2014-’15 Teacher of the Year, The Herald previously reported.
During her career, Smith has published a book for new teachers and led her school’s first numeracy night, according to the biography. Smith also has served on the S.C. Education Oversight Committee’s Mathematics Standards Review Panel and currently serves on the state’s Council for Teaching Mathematics nomination committee.
Smith received $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, a certificate signed by the President and a trip to Washington, D.C., according to the foundation.
“The Presidential Award illuminates the dedication and hard work put forth by my students, peers, administrators, and many unnamed people that have all contributed to my learning journey,” Smith said in a statement posted to the award website. “It is with deep gratitude that I am granted this opportunity.”
“Accepting the award propels me to soar even higher than I could imagine in pursuit of re-imagining the mathematical learning environment,” Smith said in the statement.
Congressman Ralph Norman congratulated Smith on his website.
“It’s is an extraordinary accomplishment, and is based on her excellence in the classroom and dedication to STEM education,” Norman wrote. “If you live in the Clover area, this is probably not the first time you’ve heard good things about Ms. Smith. Something tells me it won’t be the last.”
Fort Mill grad wins national production contest
Fort Mill High School alumna Cassidy Burns, 18, recently won a national competition hosted by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, according to the academy’s website.
Winners of the academy’s fourth annual National Student Production Awards were announced earlier this month. The annual competition includes student productions from across the country.
Burns won for the category General Assignment - Serious News for her news segment “Hot Glass Alley,” according to the academy. She produced the news segment last fall as a senior at Fort Mill High School, according to an e-mail her family sent to The Herald.
“Hot Glass Alley” details the story of a glass blowing artist who survived cancer when he was young, according to the e-mail. The piece is available to watch on Burns’ YouTube channel.
Burns is now a freshman at Western Carolina University and is majoring in film and television, according to her family.
Williams and Fudge raise $5K for charity
Williams and Fudge, based in Rock Hill, raised more than $5,000 for Christians Feed the Hungry Ministries during the company’s Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, a release states. The funds were donated by employees and the Williams family.
Boy Scout Troop 925, sponsored by Saint Johns United Methodist Church in Rock Hill, catered the meal.
Feed the Hungry, led by Rev. Ronal King, provides meals for people in the community who are in need, the release states. On Thanksgiving, Feed the Hungry prepares and delivers meals to more than 5,000 people in the region.
“Our employees are our family, and our family strongly believes in helping those in our community who need it the most,” Williams and Fudge president David Williams said in a prepared statement.
Lancaster County Foundation gives $25K in grants
The Lancaster Community Foundation has given $25,150 in local grants for 2019, according to the foundation’s website. This is up from $4,500 in grants in 2016, a release from the foundation states.
The 2019 grants for 16 local nonprofits support health, housing, education and arts initiatives, the release states. Grants are made possible thanks to the J. Marion Sims Foundation, community giving and a partnership with the Foundation for the Carolinas.
One of the grant recipients is Lancaster Children’s Home, the release states. The funds will allow the home to hire an onsite licensed therapist to serve the children.
“This grant will allow us to begin our new endeavors as we seek to provide onsite counseling services for abused, abandoned and neglected children in our care,” Annette Deese, executive director, said in a prepared statement.
Habitat for Humanity also received funds to support its Critical Home Repairs program, the release states.
“That program is designed to help senior and disabled citizens afford needed repairs and enable them to remain safely at home,” Nita Brown, executive director, said in a prepared statement.
Other recipients include the Community Playhouse of Lancaster County, Hope in Lancaster, Lancaster County Council of the Arts and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. A full list of grant recipients is available at lancastercounty-cf.org.
