Gouras, Robertson are Teachers of the Year

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 19, 2001

Peggy Gouras, elementary school Teacher of the Year, stands for applause after she was honored by the Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce Thursday night at the annual banquet. (The Vicksburg Post/PAT SHANNAHAN)

[01/19/01] Public school educators Peggy Gouras and Nancy Robertson were honored Thursday as Teachers of the Year at the annual Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce banquet.

Also among activities in the Vicksburg Convention Center, Jimmy Heidel, executive vice president of the Chamber, made another bid for an alliance or coalition of the organizations that deal with industrial and community development in Vicksburg and Warren County. In a “state of the county” type address, Heidel said Vicksburg has the potential to be much more than it is, but it lacks the cohesiveness to reach that potential.

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Also at the banquet, Curt Follmer took over as the new president of the Chamber of Commerce and Robert R. “Bobby” Bailess took over as chairman of the Economic Development Foundation.

Gouras, the elementary Teacher of the Year, and Robertson, the high school Teacher of the Year, were picked from a field of 17 nominees based on their education, work experience and teaching philosophy.

Gouras is a gifted studies teacher at Redwood Elementary. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and her master’s from Mississippi College. She received her certificate in gifted teaching from Delta State University. She has more than 27 years experience teaching first and second grades and gifted studies.

“I am honored,” Gouras said after receiving the award. “I am grateful to the principals and teachers I have had the privilege to work with.”

Robertson is director of choral activities at Warren Central High School. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Southern Mississippi and has taught and directed music in schools in Mississippi and Texas for 21 years.

“I am proud and pleased to represent the teachers of this community,” Robertson said.

Administrators at the schools where the Teachers of the Year work highly praised Gouras and Robertson.

“She is the best of the best,” Butch Newman, principal at Redwood, said of Gouras. “She is a wonderful educator. She cares about her students and she cares about her fellow workers.”

“She is a very good teacher,” Bubba Hanks, an assistant principal at Warren Central, said of Robertson. “She is very enthusiastic, she is a very hard worker and always has a smile on her face.”

Heidel, who returned to his post as chief economic developer here a year ago after eight years as the state’s director, was the keynote speaker. “Our community is really blessed when you think about the diverse economy we have,” Heidel said in his remarks.

He said the community has a strong industrial base, a strong tourism industry, is a regional retail center and has a wide range of professionals, from the engineers and scientists employed by the Corps of Engineers to the medical professionals who staff the hospitals and clinics.

“Folks, we have it all. We have everything we need to be a model community,” Heidel said.

In addition to the assets represented by the businesses and industries and the people of the community, Vicksburg already has another important asset name recognition.

“Vicksburg has the brand and it is known throughout the United States and the world,” he said.

With all its assets, Vicksburg has a great opportunity to come together to make things happen.

“That’s why we have put so much emphasis on the alliance or coalition, Heidel said.

He said three community studies done while he was executive director of the Department of Economic and Community Development under Gov. Kirk Fordice said the same thing.

“Great organizations, great vision for the future if you would only communicate and cooperate with one another,” he said.

As proposed shortly after Heidel returned to Vicksburg, the alliance or coalition would try to bring such organizations as the Chamber, EDF and Main Street under one umbrella and foster communication among them and with such local agencies as the Warren County Port Commission and the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau for a unified vision, plan and program to advance the economic development of the community.

He said the groups that could make up the coalition will meet Jan. 29 to begin work on priorities for five to 10 years in the future.

“The key to the future of this community is everyone caring about this community, coming together, working together to make this the place we all envision it can be,” Heidel said.