Press Releases

MONTEREY, Calif. - The Rotary Club of Monterey will present their 16^th annual Outstanding Teacher Awards on Thursday, May 20. The awards are given each year to outstanding Monterey school teachers who have shown exceptional teaching skills and involvement in student activities. The awards include a $1000 savings bond and a plaque to hang in the winners' schools.

This year's Outstanding Teacher Award winners are Katy Buonaccorsi of Monterey High School, Ron Woods from Colton Middle School and Karen Sheffer of Monte Vista Elementary School.

Mrs. Buonaccorsi has 36 years teaching experience in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. She taught seventh, eighth and ninth grade English at Fitch Jr. High School, where she also published the Yearbook, ran the Ski Club and advised the Cheerleaders. In 1982, she moved to Monterey High School and helped develop the curriculum for the new Freshman class. At Monterey High School she has been a class advisor and Sponsor of the Live Theater Club, escorting students to attend plays in the San Francisco area. She is married and has a daughter at U.C. Berkeley.

Mr.Woods began his teaching career in 1992 after a career as a recording artist. He is a graduate of Fresno Pacific University and taught four years in a small rural district in the San Joaquin Valley. He moved to Monterey in 1996 and taught at an elementary school in Chualar for a year before joining the faculty at Colton Middle School. At Colton Middle School he teaches eighth grade English and History. Outside the classroom, Mr. Woods advises on the Yearbook, keeps the scorebooks for girls and boys basketball and supervises other extra- curricular activities. He lives in Pacific Grove with his wife and two young children.

Karen Sheffer has taught first through fifth grades for 30 years in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. She is highly regarded and admired for her devotion to after school assistance and availability to students. She runs the After School Book Club, is Yearbook Coordinator and is a Beginning Teacher Support Provider. Mrs Sheffer is a native of Pasadena, California and a graduate of the University of Utah, where she was a dance major. She is married and lives in Pacific Grove.

In addition to the Outstanding Teacher Awards, the Rotary Club will also present academic scholarships and vocational awards to students at Monterey High School and Monterey Peninsula College. Monterey High School winners were Elizabeth Arrazola, Ashlee Clark, Justin Devine, Kai Esaki, Diana Han, Vanessa Hume, Michael Leonard, Aileen Mora, Nicholas Navoa, Ashley Rappa, George Sabilino, Kim Uwate, and Nicole Young. Winners from Monterey Peninsula College were Brandon Ausmus, Judy Baggett, Jennifer Dalton, Kelly Henderson, Minh Cao Nguyen, Cassandra Robinson, and Samara Simeone.

For more information on the Rotary Club of Monterey Peninsula, please call Dan Kreer at 373-1861.