The Statesboro Herald and Bulloch County Schools honored the system's 15 teachers of the year for the 2022-23 academic year with a banquet Tuesday evening at Uncle Shug's on South Main St.

"It's a tradition we started more than 20 years ago," said Jim Healy, operations manager and editor for the Herald. "It's the first banquet we have held since 2019 due to COVID and it's wonderful we are once again able to offer a small thank you for the dedication and compassion these remarkable teachers bring to our schools every day in probably the most important job in our community – educating and caring for our children.

Each teacher brought a guest with her/him, which included spouses, children and parents. During the banquet, either the principal or an assistant principal spoke about the qualities of the teacher at their school that makes them stand out. The teachers of the year are selected each year by their peers at their school. 

All of the teachers honored Tuesday were: Teacher of the Year Jenny Hendrix, Stilson Elementary School; Marci Cochran, Brooklet Elementary School; Tonya Deal, Julia P. Bryant Elementary School; Valerie McLaughlin, Langston Chapel Elementary School; Tonya Gilchrist, Langston Chapel Middle School; Summer Bishop, Mattie Lively Elementary School;.

Dr. Jontia Grace, Mill Creek Elementary School; Jenna Ellis, Nevils Elementary School; Teresa Flemming, Portal Elementary School; Clinton Thornburg, Portal Middle High School; Chris Clark, Sallie Zetterower Elementary School; Karla Anderson, Southeast Bulloch High School; Stephanie Burke, Southeast Bulloch Middle School; Tiffany Ward, Statesboro High School; and Erin Cabral, William James Middle School.