Nominations sought for 2019 Hall of Fame

HOPE – Following in the tradition established in the Hempstead County Bicentennial Year, the Hope Public School District is calling for nominations to its 2019 Hope Educator Hall of Fame class.
Hope Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart said the district was pleased with the support given the inaugural class in 2018.
“We are excited to begin searching for nominations for the 2019 HPS Educator Hall of Fame,” Dr. Hart said. “the community support for our 2018 inaugural class was tremendous, and I look forward to a similar event this fall.”
Dr. Hart said nominations will be solicited from the community, from professional education organizations and from education-related organizations.
“Please help us by nominating those educators that had an impact on the students and staff of HPS,” he said. “Our process is open and we welcome nominations from anyone. Our committee will make formal recommendations this winter.”
Nominations will be reviewed by a committee selected through the office of the superintendent.
Eligibility requirements for nominees include:
–Nominee should be retired from the field of public education in the Hope Public Schools.
–Nominee should have a minimum of 10 years of active service as an HPSD educator, administrator, or support professional.
–Posthumous nominations will be accepted.
Nominations should be made by letter addressed to HPSD Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart, and should include the following nomination criteria:
–Name, tenure of service, and brief personal biography of nominee.
–Brief narrative of significant educational contributions of the nominee.
“We look forward to this process and are always proud to recognize the impact that teachers have on communities and lives,” Hart said. “Thank you, again, for the support that we have been given thus far, and we look forward to many more years to come.”
Nomination letters should be delivered to Eva Scott at the HPSD Administration Building, 117 E. Second St., in Hope, by Jan. 31, 2019.
Selected honorees will be recognized during ceremonies at the home opener football game for the Hope High School Bobcats on Sept. 20.
Honorees or their family representatives will receive a plaque commemorating the honoree’s contribution and service to public education in Hope; and, they will be recognized in a permanent venue on the campus of the University of Arkansas – Hope.
Inaugural class honorees in 2018 included former Hope High School vocational agriculture teacher Troy Buck; the late Earl Downs, founder of the educational counseling office at Hope High School; the late Will V. Rutherford, principal at Yerger High School; the late Mrs. Mary Nell Turner, long-time journalism teacher at Hope High School; and Henry C. Yerger, founder of Black education in Hope at the Shover Street School, the forerunner of Yerger High School.