KEN HAYES The 2009 "Teachers of the Year" for the Lincoln County School System are Mollie Asbell, LCES Teacher of the Year; Ken Hayes, LCMS Teacher of the Year; and LuAnn Beale, LCHS Teacher of the Year and Lincoln County Teacher of the Year.

Profiles of the three accomplished individuals appear below:

MOLLIE ASBELL

A native of Branchville, South Carolina, Mollie Asbell holds a Bachelor of Arts in speech pathology and audiology from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Arts from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg.

She has served as the speech pathologist at LCES for the past seven years.

Prior to coming to Lincolnton, Asbell worked in schools in Hampton, Virginia; Key Largo, Florida; Aiken, South Carolina; and McCormick, South Carolina.

According to the gifted educator, "Being named Teacher of the Year is by far the best award I have ever received, because I was chosen for the honor by the other teachers at LCES. We have so many excellent teachers here — they are the standards by which I judge my own teaching performance."

LUANNE BEALE She went on to talk about her love of teaching. "A young child may experience so much frustration in his life due to a speech or language problem. The goal of a speech-language pathologist is to help prevent those negative experiences from occurring and improve every child's ability to communicate.

"My greatest contribution to a child's education comes when 'going to speech' becomes a positive factor in changing a child's attitude toward school."

Concerning professional organizations, Asbell is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE).

In her leisure time, the Teacher of the Year enjoys reading, walking, going to the beach, and being with her family.

She also attends Bethany United Methodist Church, where she teaches "Children's Church."

Asbell and her husband, Crawford, have one daughter, Ashley.

KEN HAYES

Ken Hayes, a native of Pickens, South Carolina, holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in textile science from Clemson University as well as an educational specialist degree from Augusta State University.

After 29 years in the textile industry, Hayes decided to embrace teaching as a second career and has taught math and science at LCMS for the past five years.

"The rewards of teaching have far exceeded the expectations I had when I entered the profession," he stated. "Some of my students have little support at home, and they listen in class and strive to master the math concepts just to please me. When these students master a difficult concept, the look of pride of their faces makes all of my preparation worthwhile."

When asked about being named the Teacher of the Year for LCMS, Hayes said, "We are fortunate to have a large number of talented and dedicated teachers in Lincoln County. I have tried to emulate the attitudes and teaching strategies of many of these professionals. This honor means that I have learned from the best."

In addition to his teaching duties, the dedicated educator also coaches middle school football and junior varsity tennis.

In his spare time, Hayes enjoys golf, tennis, and bicycling.

Moreover, he is a member of Lincolnton UMC where he sings in the church choir and has served multiple terms as chairman of the finance committee, the staff-parish relations committee, and the board of trustees.

He and his wife, the former Leverte Moss, have two daughters, Carol Webb and Jennifer Maddux; a sonin law, Brent Maddux; and a special granddaughter, Lauren Maddux.

LUANN BEALE

Born and reared in Lincoln County, LuAnn Beale has 26 years of experience in the classroom: one-and-a-half years in the Jenkins County School System, with the remainder at LCMS and LCHS.

Throughout her career, the countywide Teacher of the Year has taught a variety of subjects, including world history, middle school science, Georgia history, English, and P.E. She also helped coach softball, track, and basketball.

Currently, Beale is teaching economics and civics.

"I entered the teaching field with the idea that I could have a positive effect and influence on young people," she said.

"The main reason I chose to teach social studies was that I wanted to bring a different approach to teaching history and to present history in a way that would be more interesting. I continue to try to find new ways to make social studies come alive."

According to Beale, "History should be one of the most memorable classes that a student takes in high school. It deals with the experiences of people who, for better or worse, have had an indelible impact on the world.

"People's actions and decisions in the social, political, and economic arenas are anything but boring. Students need to feel that history is relevant to their lives today, and I try to convey that in my approach to teaching."

Beale holds a Bachelor of Science in social science education from Georgia Southern University, a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from Cambridge College in Boston, and a specialist degree in educational leadership from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrowgate, Tennessee.

She is a member of PAGE and the Georgia Council of Economic Educators (GCEE).

Concerning her designation as both Teacher of the Year for the county as well as LCHS, Beale said, "I am very humbled by this honor. Lincoln County is blessed with many exceptional and dedicated teachers. I am fortunate to be a small part of the Lincoln County School System."

In addition to her professional career, Beale is a member of Lincolnton Baptist Church where she attends the Homer Legg Sunday School Class.

She also enjoys traveling to Walt Disney World, her favorite destination. "When I can't go to Florida, I try to play tennis and golf with my husband and sons," said the gifted teacher.

Beale and her husband, Billy, have two sons, Scott, 26, and Tyler, 20.

She is the daughter of Helen and Bob Parks of Lincolnton.