MONTGOMERY – (December 2022) Local school board members from northwest Alabama were among the honorees at the Alabama Association of School Boards’ awards luncheon held Dec. 2 at the Hyatt-Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel.
In all, 25 local school board members – included in 270 school board members statewide –were recognized for advancing in the AASB School Board Member Academy, a school for school board members. The education leaders were honored for their commitment to ongoing training to hone their boardman ship skills, increase their understanding of education issues and strengthen their leadership skills.
“AASB applauds these members who have gone above and beyond to better serve students in Alabama by engaging in learning opportunities offered as part of AASB’s School Board Member Academy,” said AASB President Mary Hooks (Macon County Board Member). “We are extremely proud of the dedication our members have to advance public education.”
AASB has nine geographic districts. District 8 includes school boards of Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan and Winston Counties and the city school boards of Cullman, Decatur, Florence, Haleyville, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Russellville, Sheffield and Tuscumbia.
Below are the District 8 board members and the levels they have achieved during the 2021-2022 training year in AASB’s School Board Member Academy.
Level I (Requires 25 training hours)
· Titian Scales, Sheffield
Level I & Level II (Reached both levels in the same year)
· Lynn Sparks, Florence
· Rachel Winston, Florence
· Sonya Allman, Muscle Shoals
Level II (Requires 50 training hours)
· Amy Carter, Cullman City
· Cheryl Harrison, Cullman City
· Heath Allbright, Cullman County
· Jason Palmer, Decatur
· Christopher Humphries, Morgan County
Level III (Requires 75 training hours)
· Larry Cochran, Franklin County
· Marilyn Davis, Muscle Shoals
Level II & Level III (Reached both levels in the same year)
· Belinda Maples, Limestone County
Level I, II & III. (Reached all levels in the same year)
· Jacqueline Witt, Colbert County
Level IV (Requires 100 training hours, including all eight core curriculum courses)
· Dennis Hargett, Lauderdale County
· Larry Hill, Lauderdale County
· Mark Finley, Winston County
Master (Requires Level IV plus 15 hours, including one additional core course)
· Lamar Frith, Winston County, first time
· John Holley, Morgan County, second time
· Celia Rudolph, Muscle Shoals, second time
· Thomas Wissert, Florence, third time
· Clayton Wood, Muscle Shoals, fourth time
· Anthony Hilliard, Limestone County, fifth time
· Michele King, Decatur, fifth time
· Mike Tarpley, Morgan County, ninth time
Master Honor Roll (Requires completion of all four levels plus five consecutive years of earning Master recognition at any point during the member’s tenure on the board, as well as participation in one advocacy day and completion of AASB’s poverty simulation training)
· Ronnie Owens, Lauderdale County
Media Release/TAMIA HEARD/AASB