The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation Announces
Recipients of the 2009 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL®
National Child Care Teacher Awards™
$51,000 in Awards Given to Child Care Teachers Across the Nation.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA, February 12, 2009 – The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) proudly announces the winners of the 2009 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™.These 50 exemplary early care and education providers were chosen for their commitment to maintaining high-quality child care practices and dedication to the children they teach.Winners will be honored at an Awards Ceremony that will take place on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 in King of Prussia, PA, located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Child care teachers from across the country participated in the application process, which asked applicants to design an enhancement project that illustrates the educational, social and emotional benefits for the children in their care.A committee of national early childhood educators and experts reviewed and scored the applications.The top 50 applicants were selected, representing 22 states, were then named recipients of the 2009 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™. Each recipient receives a $1,000 award: $500 to implement their proposed project and $500 to acknowledge their dedication.They also receive the TLLCCF signature Silver Rose stickpin, courtesy of Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelry.
The top 10 scorers answer an additional essay question to qualify for the Foundation’s Helene Marks Award™ as the National Child Care Teacher of the Year™.The Child Care Teacher of the Year receives an additional $1000 award and a shopping spree, courtesy of Bloomingdale’s in the King of Prussia Mall.
From the inception of the Teacher Awards program in 1994, the TLLCCF has presented 535 awards totaling more than $506,000 to early care and education providers for their dedication and excellence in providing quality child care.
TLLCCF Executive Director Allan Miller stated, “Early care and education teachers do more than just watch children when their parents are at work. They are laying the foundation for the children to enter school ready to learn.”
Continued Miller, “Our focus is to improve the quality of programs that care for and educate children from birth through age five and enlist and enlighten others to do the same. The Terri Lynne Lokoff /Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™ allows us the opportunity to personally thank those who are dedicated to teaching our children – our future. By recognizing this group of exemplary child care teachers we are, in fact, honoring all in the field for their valuable contributions to society.”
This year’s Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™ recipients are Wendy Arnburg, Des Moines, IA; Cassandra Baker, Johnston, IA; Mildred Bearden, Birmingham, AL; Anne Brooks, Clearwater, FL; Kyla Burg, York, PA, Elizabeth Cali, Devens, MA; Claire Carradus, Mildenhall Suffolk, APO AE , England; Melissa Cato, Pittsburgh, PA; Martie Davis, San Antonio, TX ; Lynne Ehrman, Medina, OH; Celestia Erickson, Hollywood, MD; Mary Eubanks-Schuster, Reno, NV; Della Fischer, Reston, VA; Regina Garrett, St. Louis, MO; Tama George, Lancaster, PA; Robin Hills-Ellingboe, Waconia, MN; Kim Hunt, Minot AFB, ND; Heather Hurteau, Cortland, NY; Crystal Jacobsen, Chaska, MN; Kaleena Kafka, Hamden, CT; Donna Kennebeck, Des Moines, IA; Kathleen Kenshur, Encinatas, CA; Edina Koco, West Des Moines, IA; Irene Kornet, Philadelphia, PA; Maureen Liguori, Islandia, NY; Tanya Lohman, Elizabethtown, PA; Tricia Luft, Red Hill, PA; Freda Lujan, Sun City, CA; Katherine Maddox, Richmond, VA; Mary Ann Makusi, Edinboro, PA; Rebecca Martin, Harleysville, PA; Jennifer McConnell, Eugene, OR; Michele McDaniel, Earlham, IA; Janelle Noel, New Oxford, PA; Margaret Oberg, Reno, NV; Kristy Owen, Columbus, OH; Young Oxner, Hanscom AFB, MA; Rashelle Perry, Pittsburgh, PA; Elizabeth Petersen, Bremerton, WA; Anita Polito, Webster, NY; Katrina Robinson-Williams, Savannah, GA; Melissa Ruffing, Pittsburgh, PA; Adrienne Schreiber, Washington, DC; Tammy Sergeyev, Chalfont, PA; Lisa Simpson, Philadelphia, PA; Sharon St. Onge, Granby, CT; Stacy Stefaniak, Marshfield, WI; Eleanor Swope, Allison Park, PA; Susan Thom, Middletown, CT; and Connie Thompson, Norwalk, IA.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of McNeil-PPC, Inc., the makers of Children’s TYLENOL® has been the title sponsor for eight consecutive years.
For 22 years TLLCCF has been making America better by improving early care and education. The Foundation has dedicated its resources to improving the quality of child care for all children; supporting and elevating the status of child care teachers and providers; raising awareness of the need for affordable, quality child care; and, partnering with business and government in making child care a priority. TLLCCF is a nonprofit, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization established in 1987 in memory of Terri Lynne Lokoff, a devoted child care teacher.
For additional information about the Foundation or the TLLCCF National Child Care Teacher Awards™ sponsored by the makers of Children’s TYLENOL®, please visit www.childcareabc.org or call 610.992.1140.
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