The Fred Award was started in November 2007 and awards Campbell County Schools staff who go above and beyond their job description to help others. The award is based on the book The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn and is one of the highest honors given to staff by Superintendent Anthony Strong.

The following are our Freds and a brief description of why they were selected.

Melissa Donathan - Melissa is in charge of the Fast ForWord  labs at Crossroads Elementary, but she doesn't just lead the students through the program. She puts in extra effort to make sure her students are improving and gaining the self esteem they need to excel. She is patient with the students and flexible with the staff.

Becky Tewes - Becky is a special education teacher with great leadership skills. When she and fellow teacher Jody Hall (see below) saw a need to align the Number Worlds program with the Everyday Math curriculum, she didn't just pass on the suggestion. She got hard at work doing it with Hall. The result was a better aligned curriculum that benefits all of the students and staff.

Jodi Hall -Jodi is a special education teacher with great leadership skills. When she and fellow teacher Becky Tewes (see above) saw a need to align the Number Worlds program with the Everyday Math curriculum, she didn't just pass on the suggestion. She got hard at work doing it with Hall. The result was a better aligned curriculum that benefits all of the students and staff.

Rachel Mercer - Rachel is a 5th grade teacher who excels at getting her students excited about learning new material. But even with that enthusiasm, some students can fall behind. To make sure they have amply opportunity to catch up, she tutors students nearly every morning before school without pay. Never one to let an opportunity pass, she's even been known to quiz students on material while she was busy running copies.

Jim Lynch - Jim is a counselor at CCHS and he often deals with the toughest students at the school. While that may harden some, Jim makes the best out of every situation and shows each student respect and dignity, something they may not be shown in other parts of their lives. He is truly making a difference in the lives of those students he counsels as well as the other counseling staff which often look to him for guidance.

Ryan Vanlandingham - Ryan is a member of the facilities team so it is usually his job to fix what has already been broken. When it was time to install a phonic ear sound system in a classroom, Ryan took it upon himself to come into work early several days in a row so he wouldn't disturb the work going on in the classroom.

Vicki Grow - Vicki is a para-educator at Grant's Lick Elementary. She's given 22 to the CCS district and regularly goes above and beyond to help not only the students in her class but all of the school's students. Recently, she spent many hours of her own time, including a snow day, working on scenery for the school's annual production of the Nutcracker. She also created many crafts for the school's holiday party.

Denise Dee - Denise is a secretary at Campbell County Day Treatment. In addition to her secretarial work, Denise keeps tabs on her coworkers and makes sure all of them have the supplies and equipment they need to do their jobs. She often manages to get these items to them before an official request is even made.

Pam Griffith - Pam is a secretary in the Alexandria Educational Center and regularly goes beyond her job description to help others. She stays late to make sure needed work is completed, she has trained staff in other departments, is a cheerleader for the curriculum department which has undergone significant changes and is an all-around good friend to the staff at CCS. She has even called staff from her home to warm them of inclement weather.

Connie McQueary - Connie is a clerk in Central Office and regularly finds ways to help others. Sometimes, that means taking a break from her own work to help others finish their's. When a staff member was out sick, Connie quickly filled in for that person and helped others in that department finish work by deadline. On another occasion to traveled to an elementary to help set up a new software program in order for the school to begin paying bills and remain current.

Kathy Mucker - Kathy teaches 7th grade language arts at CCMS but it was her involvement with a student outside the classroom that got her nominated along with fellow Fred Officer Jim Sticklin (see below). A parent wrote to offer praise for Kathy for noticing a 6th grade boy who didn't look well. After speaking with him, she decided to keep him off of the bus and called his mother to discuss the concern. The phone call and resulting ride home convinced the mother that her son is in good hands at CCMS.

Officer Jim Sticklin - As the Student Resource Officer, Jim has a large presence at CCMS. He spends his time at the school showing students the importance of making the right decisions and being good people. He doesn't just talk the talk. When fellow Fred Kathy Mucker (see above) noticed a student was too ill to send home on the bus, it was Jim who offered to give the boy a ride home. The trip saved his mother from having to leave work early and let the mother know her son was in good hands.

Tony Mazzei - Tony is the principal at Campbell Ridge Elementary and was our first Fred to have been nominated by a parent. Tony doesn't lead from his office; He leads by example. He is regularly seen in the classrooms and hallways at the school engaging with teachers and students. He regularly eats in the cafeteria to meet with his students and see how things are going and writes return letters to students to send letters to him.

Lisa Kinney - Lisa is a para-educator in the special education program at Campbell Ridge who thinks so much of the students in the school, she has made friends with many who aren't even in her class. She even supplied birthday treats for one boy whose family wasn't able to supply them. As a single parent of 5 children, she is obviously busy, but she still takes the time to show the CRES students they are all special to her.

Laurie Gray - Laurie teaches the Camel Academy at CCHS which helps keep students in school and on their way to graduation. While it certainly takes a special teacher to run such a program, it takes someone extra special to spend her own time after school working with students and finding new ways to help students meet the graduation requirements.

Tracy O'Keefe - Tracy works in the human resources department at Central Office and is lovingly known to babysit our staff when it comes to turning in paperwork on time. She trains new staff and often rearranges her schedule in order to meet their needs.

Diane Wiehoff  - Diane drives bus #9 which picks up and drops off students at Campbell Ridge Elementary. She gets to know the students on her bus and has gone out of her way, literally, to change bus routes in order to take home children who have missed their regular bus or stop back by a school to deliver a forgotten lunch.

Fred Strange - Fred is a custodian at Grant's Lick Elementary who displays the image of a Fred so clearly that many thought this award was named for him! He keeps the school running smoothly by planning ahead and giving extra effort to complete projects such as preparing classrooms on short notice. After school, Fred gives even more of his time by serving as the school's robotics Team coach.

Dan Schoef - Dan is a custodian at Cline Elementary who always goes out of his way to help people. he believes no job is too small to give his full attention to it and regularly works around others schedules so not to interrupt class time. He is a special part of the Cline family.