On Friday, May 16, 2008, seventeen retirees from Spartanburg District One Schools were recognized at a Dinner Awards ceremony at Inman Elementary School. &bsp;

More than 100 people that included retirees, their guests, board members, principals, assistant principals and administrators joined in celebrating the following employees for their service to education and to District One Schools.&bsp; &bsp;

Superintendent Littlefield said, &dquo;Represented here tonight, collectively, are 456 years of hard work, dedication and devotion to and for students in our public school system.&bsp; This is an average of twenty-four years of service per individual.&bsp; Can you imagine the number of students&squo; lives that have been touched by these dedicated people?&dquo;

The retirees were recognized by Mr. Michael Smith, Board of Trustees Chairman, Superintendent Littlefield and by their respective school principals.&bsp; Each retiree received a retirement plaque, a Classic Waterford Clock, a years of service pin, a retiree pin and flowers.

For more information, go to the Spartanburg District One website:&bsp; www.spart1.org

Below is additional information about the retirees:

Brenda Bridges has taught school at Campobello Gramling for 18 years with a total of thirty-four years of service in education.&bsp; She and her husband, Larry, have two daughters, Tommy Foster and Cheryl Weathersby and a son, Johnny Bridges.&bsp; They have nine grandchildren.&bsp; She said her mentor was Diane Jackson who was always there for her when she needed to talk.&bsp; She said Diane always encouraged her to work with small children and that she was right.

Dee Bunn served thirty-three years in education and retired from 7th Grade ELA at Landrum Middle School.&bsp; She enjoyed facilitating the Battle of the Brains and service learning projects. &bsp;

She also provided opportunities for her students to participate in the play &dquo;The Diary of Ann Frank &dquo;at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.

Sue Cannon has served in education for thirty years and the last eight as Receptionist at Chapman High.&bsp; Sue and her husband, Pat, have three children:&bsp; Cheryl, Ronnie and Carol and five grandchildren.&bsp; She said she wanted to be remembered that she tried to make everyone that came through the front door at Chapman High to feel welcome and that she always had a smile on her face.

Karen Davis has been a secretary at Landrum Junior High (now Landrum Middle) and Landrum High for twenty-seven years.&bsp; She and her husband, Ray, have two children:&bsp; Keith and Kristie and one grandson.&bsp; Her hobbies include gardening and exercising.

Emily Fortner has been the Attendance Assistant at Chapman High for 24 years and served a total of 29 years in education.&bsp; She and her husband, Don, have been married for 44 years and have three sons:&bsp; Jimmy, Kris and Jeff and have five grandchildren. Her hobbies include:&bsp; cooking for family and friends and reading, especially Beth Moore books and Bible study.

Patricia Huwyler has been a Math teacher at Chapman High for eleven years and in education for twenty-six years.&bsp; When she retires, she plans to travel with her husband Hans, do volunteer work and yard work.

Gail Lewis has been an English teacher for thirty-six years and served eight years at Chapman High.&bsp; She wants to be remembered as a dedicated teacher who was knowledgeable of subject matter, was fair and respectful in all dealings with students, and helpful and congenial in conversing with colleagues.

Paige Moore has taught 8th Grade Science for the last ten years at Landrum Middle School and has served a total of sixteen years of service in education.&bsp; She and her husband, Platt, have two children.&bsp; When asked who had been her mentor, she said, &dquo;Myra Bradshaw&ellip;she was an awesome Science Teacher who loved experiments.&dquo;

Lorraine Mosca retired as a Kindergarten Grade 5 teacher in December and had thirty years of service in education.&bsp; She is married to Tom and they have one son, Tommy.&bsp; Since her retirement, she and her husband love to travel.

Merle Shields has been the nurse at Landrum Middle for two years.&bsp; She has one daughter and two grandsons.&bsp; She also works part-time at Spartanburg Regional Hospital.&bsp; She always make cakes and goodies for faculty and staff members&squo; birthdays and special occasions.

Sherrill Sims has been a Kindergarten Grade Five teacher for twenty-one years at New Prospect Elementary.&bsp; She and her husband, Johnny have two sons, Sonny and Michael and one grandson.&bsp;&bsp; She said she enjoys seeing the &dquo;growth&dquo; of her students, their enthusiasm for learning and their love for reading and writing.

Marnie Smith has a total of thirty-three years of service in education with the last seven years as a Speech/Language Pathologist at Campobello Gramling.&bsp; She and her husband, Les, have two children:&bsp; Brian Pridgeon and Lauren Pridgeon.&bsp; The favorite part of her job, she said, was to see her students&squo;&bsp; &dquo;ah-ha&dquo; moments as they discover the key to a difficult sound production in their speech&ellip;.priceless!

Gerald Terry has been the custodian at O. P. Earle Elementary for seven years.&bsp; He and his wife, Lib, have been married for forty-eight years.&bsp; They have four children:&bsp; Wayne, Scott, Sue and Mollie and they have eleven grandchildren.&bsp; When he retires, he plans to spend lots of time with his family and if gas prices come down, travel a little.

Carolyn Thompson has served as the Foothills AmeriCorps/POSSE/Service Learning Coordinator at Chapman High School for the last four years of her twenty years there.&bsp; She has a total of thirty-six years of service in education.&bsp; Her hobbies include: reading, travel, art, gardening and church.&bsp; When she retires, she plans to travel to Canada and the northeast.

Gail Tooley has been a Media Assistant and Bus Driver at Chapman High for sixteen and half years.&bsp; Her hobbies are dancing, dancing and more dancing.&bsp; She has a son, Greg, daughter-in-law, Linda, two grandchildren and her sweet dog, &dquo;Penny.&dquo;

Joyce White has been the bookkeeper for Chapman High for twenty-eight years.&bsp; She is married to David and they have two children: Stephanie and Anna and two grandchildren.&bsp; Ms. White wants to be remembered as being a positive role model and a Christian influence.

Margaret Zimmerman is currently a third grade teacher at Campobello Gramling and also has served as kindergarten teacher at Honey Tree with a total of twenty eight years of service in education.&bsp; Her mentor was her mother, Mary Wingo, fondly called &dquo;Marmee&dquo; by many that loved her.&bsp; She said Marmee was a prayer warrior, taught school for 34 years, read and used the dictionary daily and was always a positive person regardless of the circumstances.