The Shenandoah Iowa Education Foundation is now planning its first-ever awards banquet. On March 26, 2022, the 150th Anniversary Excellence in Education Honor Banquet will be held at the Elks Lodge in Shenandoah and is open to the public.
The event is the first of its kind for the foundation and is something that has been in the works for awhile. The 150th anniversary refers to the community’s sesquicentennial, which is now being celebrated.
“We’ve talked about having an honor event like this for five or six years now,” said foundation board member and Shenandoah High alumnus Chuck Offenburger. “And besides recognizing teachers and leading students, we also want to involve alumni -- not only with a new award -- but also to encourage them to attend the banquet. We think it’ll be a positive step to have alumni getting to know the faculty, staff and students of today.”
The banquet will honor teachers for their years of service, top academic students in the senior class, alumni of the year and will also feature speaker Scott Ginger, of the SHS Class of 1976.
Ginger is a recently retired teacher who also taught speech and debate. In 2017-2018 he was awarded the Nevada Educator of the Year Award by the National Speech and Debate Association.
The foundation needs your help with the alumni of the year award. It is seeking nominations for this prestigious honor. We are looking for SHS graduates who have contributed to society in an exemplary manner and have achieved outstanding success in any of the following areas: The arts, business, community service, humanitarian efforts or their profession. To nominate someone please go to our website www.shenandoahiowaeducationfoundation.org and the nomination form is under the “contact” tab. The deadline is December 1st.
Tickets to the honor event will be $25 per person, and in addition to the awards and speaker, a meal will be included. Watch for more information on how to purchase tickets after the new year.
If you have any questions, please contact executive director Jamie Burdorf at j_burdorf@yahoo.com or 515-520-7641.