Governor to launch Hall-of-Fame campaign
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:56 p.m., December 13, 2007
Updated 01:56 p.m., December 13, 2007
The National Teachers Hall of Fame hopes its “One in a Million” campaign will get a big kickoff boost from the most powerful person in Kansas.
At 11 a.m. Friday in the Governor’s Ceremonial Office in Topeka, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will proclaim next week to be “One in a Million-Teachers Who Make A Difference Week” in Kansas. But for the NTHF to reach its lofty goal, its message needs to go well beyond the state.
The campaign’s objective is to find one million people who want to show their appreciation for an influential teacher by donating a minimum of $1 to the hall of fame, said Carol Strickland, an NTHF volunteer and 2003 inductee who came up with the idea for the campaign. The NTHF will archive the name of each teacher who is nominated, the school where they taught, and any additional comments by the person who nominated them. Those details will be posted both in the hall of fame and on its Web site, www.nthf.org.
“It’s an awareness-raising campaign to emphasize just how important teachers are,” Strickland said, “and secondarily, also to promote the National Teachers Hall of Fame. We’re well-known here in Emporia, but beyond that, a lot of people just don’t even know we exist.”
Strickland taught for 39 years, including 20 at Emporia High School. She said she’s worried about the number of teachers who don’t stay in the profession, and the campaign is aiming both to compel teachers to stay in the field and to recruit new teachers.
The hope is that Sebelius’ proclamation to kick off One in a Million week will lead to national exposure for the campaign, leading to seven figures worth of teacher nominations.
“If some of the networks and newspapers can push it to a national (level), like the Associated Press and some of the wire services and the national networks, then hopefully people around the nation will become aware of it,” Strickland said.
The NTHF has had information on the campaign posted on its Web site for a while, and there has already been some response to it, but Friday’s proclamation will mark the campaign’s official kickoff, Strickland said.
Sebelius spoke on behalf of the campaign in a one-minute message posted on YouTube on Dec. 1.
“We all have favorite teachers, those who have affected our lives and our children,” she said in the message. “So I encourage all Kansans to become part of this special program.”
Strickland believes the minimum $1 donation means anyone with a favorite teacher can get involved in the program.
“Kids can save their lunch money and thank their teacher currently, or somebody who’s graduated and looks back saying somebody had a real meaningful part in their life can thank that teacher,” she said. “It’s a way that that teacher or that teacher’s family can go online or come to the museum and see that person’s name preserved.”
Those interested in nominating a teacher can go to the NTHF Web site and download the One in a Million brochure, which includes the nomination form.
Strickland said the NTHF will try to collect the one million names in a year, but no end has been set for the campaign. If that goal isn’t reached in a year, the campaign could be extended.