Members of two area chambers turned out to support new teachers last week.
The Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce and the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce both held breakfasts last week to welcome new teachers to the area.
The Riverview breakfast was held at Riverview High School and included hundreds of people welcoming new teachers to the 25 schools in the community. Former teacher, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent (one of the nation’s largest school districts) and current Supervisor of Elections Dr. Earl Lennard provided the keynote speech for the event, taking time to praise Riverview High School principal Bob Heilmann as one of the nation’s best principals. He also thanked each teacher for their hard work and dedication. “You are appreciated,” he said. Rachel Burgin, Florida House of Representatives District 56, was also a guest speaker along with Jill Andrew of the chamber’s board of directors. Gift baskets were presented to each of the new teachers in attendance.
The Ruskin breakfast, held at Destiny Church, was the seventh annual breakfast organized by the chamber. Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman was the guest speaker, along with Dr. Alan Witt, president of the Hillsborough Community College Southshore campus, Chris Farkas, District 8 supervisor for Hillsborough County Schools and Tampa Bay Times columnist Ernest Hooper. Gifts baskets were provided to each of the new teachers and special gifts were also provided to the area schools, intended to fulfill the needs of students throughout the year.
Breakfast, of course, was served at both events, sponsored by South County and Tampa Bay businesses. The first day of school was Tuesday, August 21.
2012 New Teacher Breakfasts – Images by Mitch Traphagen
