Kathy Hester’s business is growing and, thanks to that, so is her trophy case.

Hester, the head instructor at Guaranteed Golf School in Vicksburg, has been named the company’s National Teacher of the Year for 2006. Guaranteed Golf School has locations in a half-dozen states, and its teacher of the year award is given to the instructor with the largest increase in the number of students. Hester’s total doubled in the past year.

&#8220They sent me a big trophy in the mail and that meant more to me than any golf tournament I ever won,” said Hester, who has been a golf instructor and pro for 15 years.

Hester came to Vicksburg in 2002 as the assistant pro at Clear Creek Golf Course. She left the public course last summer, and recently opened a new Guaranteed Golf facility in the Vicksburg Factory Outlets.

The new facility features an indoor and outdoor practice range, eight hitting stations and a state-of-the-art video system for analyzing a player’s swing. She hopes to add a pro shop soon, and believes the new facility will further increase business.

&#8220I’m sure it will,” she said.