2017 Winners Honored

2017 award winners

From left, Beth Yelverton, Allen J. Ruliffson, Emily Hartman, Holly Kincaid, Callie Randolph, Nora S. Fletcher, Virginia Munns, Lisa Long, Russell Kohrs and Walt Williamson were recognized as 2017 winners.

On Oct. 2, teachers from the Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County Public Schools were received awards for their innovative approaches to economic education. The awards were sponsored by the Harrisonburg Rotary Club and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Shenandoah Valley Economic Education, Inc. The awards include cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000.

Awards were presented at the regular Monday meeting of the Rotary Club. Beth Yelverton of Ottobine Elementary School was honored for her work with the economic literacy reading program, “Reading Makes Cent$,” sponsored by Virginia 529.

The teachers honored also included these grade-level winners:

  • Virginia Munns of Smithland Elementary School, for her project, “Volunteering Acts of Kindness,” which won first place in the primary (K-2) division.
  • Emily Hartman of South River Elementary School, for “The South River Breakfast Cart,” which won first place in the elementary (grades 3-5) division.
  • Allen J. Ruliffson of J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, for his project, “Learn it. Sell it. Love it. On eBay.,” which won second place in the middle school division.
  • Callie Randolph and Holly Kincaid of Skyline Middle School, for their project, “Monster Factory,” which won first place in the middle school division.
  • Russell Kohrs of Massanutten Regional Governor’s School for Environmental Science and Technology, for “Over the Cliff or Sustaining the System: An Exploration of EROI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested),” which won first place in the high school division.

The overall winners were

  • Nora S. Fletcher of J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, for her project, “Poverty in America: Addressing Disparities through Action,” which won the reserve grand prize in the overall competition division.
  • Lisa Long and Walt Williamson of Harrisonburg High School, for their project, “Joe to Go!,” which won the grand prize in the overall competition. Judges were impressed with the project’s integration of economics and life skills for the special education students who participated.

SVEE is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote economic literacy in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.