Bertolas, Gildersleeve, Stoddard, Stone Award
In 2008, the GEON Steering Committee established a geography service award in honor of the four professors who came together to help create the Geographic Educators of Nebraska in the early 1990s. Randy Bertolas of Wayne State University (NE), Chuck Gildersleeve of UN-Omaha, Bob Stoddard of UN-Lincoln, and Marv Stone of UN-Kearney along with other folks guided a small group of K-16 educators into becoming a successful statewide organization.
In their honor, and to pay tribute to those individuals that continue to advance the growth of geography in the state, GEON annually bestows the Bertolas, Gildersleeve, Stoddard, Stone Award to individuals in each of the three Congressional districts for their efforts and accomplishments in improving geography education in Nebraska. The awards are presented during the annual conference of the Nebraska State Council for the Social Studies.
You may nominate a colleague for this annual award at any time! Awards are presented at the annual conference, but we accept and encourage nominations throughout the year.
YOUR NOMINEE MUST BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:
● Be adaptable to learning challenges in diverse communities
● Be engaging with students with activities outside of class that promote engagement with the community like civic engagement, enhanced learning opportunities in the public and private sectors.
● Rise to the challenges of making Social Studies education relevant to today.
NOMINATION CRITERIA MAY INCLUDE SOME OF THE FOLLOWING:
Awardees should be a classroom or activity teacher who has demonstrated exceptional abilities as a social studies instructor that results in more than a traditional learning experience for students.
● Achievements in Social Studies, Humanities or one of the extra-curricular disciplines related to it (geography bee, political activism, get-out-the-vote campaigns, academic competitions like debate, National Economics Challenge, We the People, Project Citizen, Academic Decathlon, Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, IB, etc.)
● Classroom instructors who create inclusive and active learning opportunities in their classroom that creates more relevance for students with the curriculum.
● Must teach in the Congressional District that they are nominated from.
To nominate, please click here: BGSS Award Nomination Form
In their honor, and to pay tribute to those individuals that continue to advance the growth of geography in the state, GEON annually bestows the Bertolas, Gildersleeve, Stoddard, Stone Award to individuals in each of the three Congressional districts for their efforts and accomplishments in improving geography education in Nebraska. The awards are presented during the annual conference of the Nebraska State Council for the Social Studies.
You may nominate a colleague for this annual award at any time! Awards are presented at the annual conference, but we accept and encourage nominations throughout the year.
YOUR NOMINEE MUST BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:
● Be adaptable to learning challenges in diverse communities
● Be engaging with students with activities outside of class that promote engagement with the community like civic engagement, enhanced learning opportunities in the public and private sectors.
● Rise to the challenges of making Social Studies education relevant to today.
NOMINATION CRITERIA MAY INCLUDE SOME OF THE FOLLOWING:
Awardees should be a classroom or activity teacher who has demonstrated exceptional abilities as a social studies instructor that results in more than a traditional learning experience for students.
● Achievements in Social Studies, Humanities or one of the extra-curricular disciplines related to it (geography bee, political activism, get-out-the-vote campaigns, academic competitions like debate, National Economics Challenge, We the People, Project Citizen, Academic Decathlon, Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, IB, etc.)
● Classroom instructors who create inclusive and active learning opportunities in their classroom that creates more relevance for students with the curriculum.
● Must teach in the Congressional District that they are nominated from.
To nominate, please click here: BGSS Award Nomination Form
Year |
1st District |
2nd District |
3rd District |
2008 |
Lonnie Moore |
Harris Payne |
Susan Gallagher |
2009 |
Steve Callaghan |
Mary Lou Alfieri |
Mary Claire May |
2010 |
Mary Kay Kreikemeier |
Thomas Allen |
Cathy Larson |
2011 |
Randy Bertolas |
Steve McCarville |
Shari Frost |
2012 |
Kathleen Fimple |
William Deardoff |
Tara Dunn |
2013 |
Chuck Morgan |
Christina Dando |
Larry Starr |
2014 |
Deb Anderson |
Becky Feagan |
Martha Ford |
2015 |
Randy Ernst |
Maria Walinski-Peterson |
Bob Sankey |
2016 |
Alison Kelley |
None |
Amber Lewis |
2017 |
Jaclyn Kellison |
Amy Studts |
Dan Gossman |
2018 |
Ted Larson |
Kyle Tredinnick |
Lesli Rawlings |
2023 |
Chris Turley |
Kristy McGuire |
Matthew Hudnall |
2024 |
Leslie Mann |
Lorne McFadden |
Matt Myers |
