Mabel Hokanson honored at Minneapolis ACEI Teacher of Distinction Awards Ceremony

Childhood Education, Spring 2002

ACEI AWARDS AND HONORS

On May 7, 2001, the Minneapolis ACEI Branch held their eighth annual Teacher of Distinction Awards Ceremony. The presentation was held during ACEI's Week of the Classroom Teacher. Among the honored guests at the ceremony was Branch member Mabel R. Hokanson, who was awarded ACEI's Outstanding Member Service Award at the 2001 ACEI Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, last April. The Outstanding Member Service Award recognizes the outstanding contributions made by ACEI members to the betterment of children, to the field of education, and to ACEI.

Hokanson has been an active ACEI member for over 50 years. Her involvement and service to the Association has included serving her local Branch as President (3 terms), Vice President (5 terms), and various other offices and chairmanships. She also has served on the Executive Board of the Minnesota State ACEI Branch as President (2 terms) and Vice President (6 terms). Her international participation includes attending over 20 ACEI Annual Conferences since 1974 and serving as a national conference presenter. She has served on several of the Association's committees, including Membership, Nominating, Infancy/ Early Childhood, Awards and Retired Members, and she was on the Presidents' Council for six years.

Even after more than 20 years of retirement, Hokanson rarely misses a local Branch Board meeting or an opportunity to help the children in her urban community. According to Loren Meinke, the Minneapolis and Minnesota Branch President and program host at the Awards Ceremony last May, "she has always given of herself, both to colleagues and children. Whether it was her MEA, ACEI, or Delta Kappa Gamma memberships or boards, she would always (and may I add still does) keep us on task without losing the ultimate goal-- what's in it for the children. "

During his presentation at the ceremony, Meinke went on to say, "Mabel is the embodiment of love, compassion, and honesty, and she is a mentor for all of us here in Minneapolis and Minnesota. If the mission and goals of ACEI could be summarized in one word, it would be 'Mabel.'"

In addition to Hokanson's special recognition, the Minneapolis Branch used the occasion of Week of the Classroom Teacher to recognize five of its own members with its own Teacher of Distinction Branch Award. The honorees included:

* Melissa Engle, a High 5 teacher from Kenny School

* Shirley Foerester, a special education teacher in the grades 2-3 PALS program at Brookside Elementary

* Rebecca Kristofitz, a media specialist from Brookside Performing Arts School

* Kimberly Robinson, a kindergarten teacher at the Jefferson Community School

* Stacy Spanier, an intermediate grade Montessori teacher from Seward Montessori School.

Congratulations to all of the program's honorees!