Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program™
The Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program™ was the first major project founded and developed by The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Inc. Since its inception thirty-seven years ago as a way to enhance public education by recognizing and rewarding excellence in teaching, the Foundation has awarded 207 educators with the prestigious Golden Apple.
Nomination:
Each year begins with an invitation to students, parents, teachers, administrators and the general public to nominate any School District of Lee County teacher who is making an extraordinary contribution to our students. Nominations for the 2024 Golden Apple are open.
Selection Process:
The Golden Apple Selection Committee, made up of community and business leaders, is charged with the arduous task of selecting the Golden Apple Recipients as the applications are reviewed and narrowed down to 30 finalists. Those finalists are personally interviewed and observed in their classrooms by the Selection Committee and six teachers are chosen as recipients of the Golden Apple Award.
Golden Apple Banquet:
The six recipients are guests of honor at the Annual Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Banquet. This elegant black-tie affair is an opportunity for the community to recognize the Lee County Golden Apple Recipients, Finalists, Teachers of Distinction and members of the Academy of Teachers.

Academy of Teachers
1988
Georgia Brown
Janice H. Cook
William A. Dubee
Betty Larkin
Lee E. Werst, Sr.
Kenneth Wright
1989
Daniel Aleman
Susie Kinkead
Susan Miller
Amy Sijan
Diane Stewart
Vicki Stockman Wilson
1990
Carl Burnside
Robert Fain
Susan Fussell
Lucille Schonbrun
Sybil Thompson
1991
Howard Berryman
Karen Bieber Connors
John Miller, Jr.
Louise Taylor
Deborah Tihen
1992
Linda Campochiaro Buckley
Timothy Ferguson
Judith Stacy Gault
Mark Kelly
Denise York
1993
Maryjane Boisvert
Rosanne Lieberman
Cindy McClung
Ruth Rigby
Lynn Titus
1994
Dorothy Gorton
Kimberly Lunger
Betty Maher
Carol Shelton
Connie Whiteside
1995
Lyn K. Brown
Linda Levine-Brown
Lisa B. Shirey
Mary Kaye Stevens
Lemuel Teal
1996
Dorothy Polack Jeter
Betsy Lewton
Ceclyn Mullings
Cheryl Powell
Gretchen Wahlberg
1997
Tese Bedwell Willis
Marcia Fain
Leona Lynn Herrell
Richard Lewton
Georgianna McDaniel
1998
Irene Linn
Jandy McCoy
Leanne Migliore
Donna Robson
Nancy Wiseman
1999
Stacey Chadwick Brown
Derrick L. Donnell
Helen Garcia-Valdez
Betsy Binkley Henry
Dorothy Lillian Kiesel
2000
Ingela Conley
Catherine DeCamp
Walter McGee
Caren Pearson
Susan Pearson
Evelyn Rivera
2001
Hana Z. Ahmad
Cheryl Dooley
Charlotte Gomez-Lippincott
Jeff Kulie
Lorna Matteson
Beth Williamson
2002
Karen Cabai
Carolyn Gora
Linda Graham
Carlos Negron
Peter Rausch
Aimee Roles-Coston
2003
Brandie Berry
Lori Faasse Brooks
Susan Joiner
Dianne Konkel
Francine Waltman
Debra Wheeler
2004
Mary Anne Delacenserie
Jamie Newlin Kirschner
Joseph LaGrange
Ron Riis
Pamela Schwantes
Michelle Talbott
2005
Ileane Flores
Erin Groeneveld
SFC John Hyler
Beverly “B.J.” Nelson
Patricia Scott
John Witt
2006
Mark Dahlberg
Alex Dworzanski
Virginia Diane Elswick
Jane Nordquist
Anita Ramirez
Jamie Reid
2007
Lauri Ann Brown
Michael Cook
Jackie Lynn Corey
Terri Ganey
Patricia Loverock
Robert Snyder
2008
Ella Grady
Jim Knecht
Debbie Leith
Dyann Miller
Suzanne Roberts
Dawn Voyer
2009
Debra Goff
Leisha Roy
Tilisa Skerczak
Debbie Suhrie
Jennifer Tomlinson
Mirta “Silvia” Torres
2010
Kristen Cohen
Morgan Kirk
Nancy Loughlin
Kathryn McKinnon
Lisa Vazquez
Renee Wagner-Pachiva
2011
Candyce Bond
Patricia Buitrago
Jennifer Einstein
James Guffey
Donald Payne
Paula Sizemore
2012
Billy Lansberry
Heather Millican
Charles O’Connor
Laura Reed
Eric Riemenschneider
Kimberly Stone Smith
2013
Karen Green
Amy Mayer
Barbara Rebeor
Robert Schalmo
Fernando Vazquez
Morgan Wright
2014
Kevin Black
Khrystine Bosland
Sara Kohlhauff
Joseph Mallon
Patrick Miller
Timothy Schnabel
2015
Gregory Balan
James Kroll
Adam Molloy
Christine Morgan
Kerri Toscano
Keith White
2016
Joelle Beverly
Kelly Mains
Monica Nelson
Cherie Sukovich
Jason Thomashefsky
Christian Zimmerman
2017
Jesse Bryson
Patty Gair
Vanessa Lynch
Richard Romano
Milagros Sowers
Mariah Washington
2018
Matthew Bourbina
Samantha Hutchinson
Esteban Jaramillo
Patrick Hanrahan
Brooke Przespolewski
Maria Rose
2019
Stacey Anderson
Courtney Black
Kristy Caudill
Kristina Gale
Amanda Rose
James Rose
2020
Brittany Camp
Jaclyn Baker
Mark Drew
Jennifer Kida
Laurie Nelson
Nancy Rossi
2021
Jaime Ayres
Nathan Buehler
Joseph Camputaro
Melissa Holland
Marylin Prysi
Bryan Williams
2022
Ryan Arciero
Taylor Ashby
Steven McGinley
Stephanie Osterhouse
Phillip Savage
Kaleigh Stewart
2023
Luis Fisher
Tamara Hunter
Laura Jordan
Lindsey Maxwell
Joni Pelletier
Stephanie Yanik