Twenty-six years ago, fourth-generation teacher Alexa Moscardelli stood in a garden under a tent at $355 million-asset CedarStone Bank’s inaugural Wilson County Teacher of the Year award ceremony in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Surrounded by her peers, all nominated for Teacher of the Year for their respective schools, Moscardelli had no idea she was about to receive the highest honor of the day: the Wilson County Teacher of the Year award.
When her name was called, Moscardelli was stunned. “Anybody there could have won, and so I was pleased and honored but very, very surprised,” she says. “It made me want to live up to the things they said about me.”
Recognizing and honoring the work of educators has always been a core goal of CedarStone Bank’s Teacher of the Year program. Developed in partnership with Wilson County Motors, this initiative was created to celebrate the work of educators and the profound impact they have on their students, schools and communities.
A tribute to teachers
For Bob McDonald, CedarStone’s president and CEO, educators hold a deeply personal significance.
“[All my teachers] taught me something different and something special that no one else could have taught me,” he says. “Those individuals prepared me for my personal and professional life, and that’s why it gives me great joy to celebrate this wonderful vocation, because they’re preparing leaders of our country, business and community.”
The Teacher of the Year program began when McDonald and W.P. Bone III, owner of auto dealer Wilson County Motors, sought a meaningful event they could organize together. Inspiration struck when Bone approached McDonald with a USA Today article about the newspaper’s Teacher of the Year Program. The two decided they would develop an honor like that within their community.
Building a framework to celebrate educators
Preparation for the program began two years before its launch in 1998. McDonald and Bone convened a 15-member focus group, including educators, administrators and local government leaders.
The group met regularly to plan and establish the criteria for nominees. To be eligible, teachers must exhibit a broad understanding of effective teaching models, have positive expectations for student success and have at least five years of teaching experience in Wilson County. Each school in the county nominates one Teacher of the Year, and then these nominees are invited to create a portfolio that includes a written statement about their teaching philosophy and letters from former students, parents or fellow faculty.
Over a quarter of a century after she won the award, Moscardelli says she still has her portfolio. “It was a nice time creating the application,” she says. “It gave you a time to sit back and reflect on your philosophy.”
The Wilson County Teacher of the Year award is presented to one outstanding individual selected from all the nominees. The winner receives a $3,000 personal prize, $1,000 for their school and a commemorative plaque provided by the community bank and Wilson County Motors, which features the names of all past Teacher of the Year recipients from the school alongside the newest honoree.
To determine the County Teacher of the Year, a committee of education faculty from Cumberland University, located in Lebanon, reviews the applications. McDonald and Bone intentionally remain unaware of the panel members’ identities to preserve impartiality each year, only learning the winner’s name during the awards ceremony at the end of the school year.
A ceremony of recognition
CedarStone Bank hosts the awards ceremony in a chapel at Cumberland University. The event includes a sit-down dinner, live music, a keynote speaker and the ceremony itself. Each teacher is honored with a brief speech from their principal, celebrating their accomplishments on stage.
“Every year, as they’re walking across [the stage], there are so many teachers that look at me and as they’re getting their plaque, they’ll say, ‘This is the most rewarding moment in my professional life,’” McDonald says.
By supporting community endeavors and celebrating teachers, McDonald believes that the community itself will be successful. “We’ve recognized literally hundreds of teachers over the years,” he says. “While we may recognize 33 teachers from around the county, our hope is that we’re uplifting all teachers by seeing them get recognized.”
