Local People Honored at Regional Education Recognition Banquet

Honored at the Great Southwest United 2007 Recognition Banquet were Comfrey Teacher of the Year, Amy Lee;Comfrey Friend of Education, Wendell Fredin, and retiring teachers: Dianne Doughtery, Bruce Stresemann and Gary Poortvliet. The banquet, sponsored by Education Minnesota, was held on Wednesday, May 2 at the Marshall Country Club.

Wendell Fredin Selected as Friend of Education

Education Minnesota Comfrey has selected Wendell Fredin as the 2007 Friend of Education.  This honor is given in recognition of the many years Wendell served as a member of the Comfrey School Board.  Wendell is a lifelong resident of the Comfrey area and a graduate of Comfrey High School. Wendell and wife, Martha, had nine children attend and graduate from Comfrey. In 1983, Wendell was first elected to the Comfrey School Board and served through 2006. During these years, he held all the offices of the board. Wendell was active in the Minnesota State School Board Association which recognized his work on behalf of schools multiple times. 

On May 2, Wendell and Martha attended the Great Southwest United Recognition Banquet at Marshall where he was honored along with other chosen Friends of Education from the southwest corner of Minnesota. Education Minnesota Comfrey would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Wendell for his years of service to the Comfrey school system and community.

Amy Lee Selected as Teacher of the Year

Education Minnesota-Comfrey is pleased to announce that member Amy Lee has been selected as Teacher of the Year for Comfrey Public School. Ms. Lee is the vocal and instrumental instructor for the school and has the entire music program in grades 5-12. Ms. Lee began her teaching career at CHS following graduation from Southwest Minnesota University at Marshall in 1999. Her career was immediately off to a busy start with helping to move the school from the temporary facility at Sanborn to the reconstructed school at Comfrey in the fall of 1999. She also planned the music trip for the choir and band students in her first year of teaching and her great organizational skills showed in the successful trip to Chicago.

Ms Lee grew up in Randolph, a small community south of the Twin Cities, so being part of a small school system was not a new experience to her. Besides being involved in music, she also participated in high school sports. That interest has remained, and Ms Lee has coached junior high boys basketball, junior varsity volleyball, and softball. She is presently the head softball coach for the Comfrey-Cedar Mountain team.

Because of the smallness of the school, Ms Lee, like all staff members, wears many hats through the day in trying to meeting a wide range of needs and age groups. She works with the upper elementary and begins them in the band program and has them for general music and choir. In the junior and senior high, she directs many groups such as concert band and choir, pep band, and marching band. Ms Lee is pleased with the amount of participation of the student body in the music program. This year, 72% of our students are involved in band and/or choir. She works with and encourages small group and solo participation and teaches a high school elective in music theory and fundamentals. She spends much time in developing talent and has seen her students continue in music programs while in college.

In addition to her responsibilities at school, Ms. Lee also actively participates in additional music programs, and has given many, many hours to community and church endeavors such as the Last Resort Band, leading the Comfrey Community Cantata, helping with Comfrey Community Days, teaching piano lessons through Community Education, serving as pianist for the 1^st UCC church, just to name a few. Anyone present at the recent school and community Christmas and Holiday programs can see how Ms Lee has enriched our school and community, and so we thank her and congratulate her on being the 2006-2007 Comfrey Teacher of the Year!

The National Teacher of the Year Program began in 1952 and continues as the oldest, most prestigious national honors program that focuses public attention on excellence in teaching.

The National Teacher of the Year is chosen from among the State Teachers of the Year by a national selection committee representing the major national education organizations. Each April, the National Teacher of the Year is introduced to the American people by the President of the United States.