Four educators were inducted in the Louie B. Nunn Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame Friday in Bowling Green.
Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman recognized the teachers in ceremonies at Western Kentucky University.
Coleman said they exemplify the ideal of offering all Kentuckians an excellent education so they have a path to a good career and can support their families.
“These four inductees - Evelyn Douglas, Sharon Coomer Mattingly, Lynn Reidling, and Wanda Carol Clouse - are shining examples of teachers who have lived out this ideal,” said Coleman.
The lieutenant governor highlighted their range of specialties, from teaching to administration. The inductees represent large urban school districts and small rural ones.
Associate Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education, Dr. Byron Darnell, led the induction ceremonies.
When inducting Barren County High School teacher Sharon Coomer Mattingly, he spotlighted her dedication to her speciality of teaching all levels of Spanish.
"Her commitment to her students and to her profession have been recognized and celebrated numerous times throughout the years, "said Darnell. "In 2019 she was presented a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kentucky World Language Association for her long-term commitment to immersing her students in the Spanish language and cultures.”
Mattingly has taught Spanish for 37 years, 10 in North Carolina and 27 at Barren County High School.
She said her father, who was a principal, and her mother, a teacher, encouraged her to go into education, but at first she resisted. She said she soon came to consider teaching "her calling."
Other inductees are Lynn Reidling of Louisville, Wanda Carol Clouse of Barbourville, and the late Evelyn Douglas of Shepherdsville, who passed away in April.
The Louie-B-Nunn Teacher Hall of Fame is named after Kentucky’s former governor.
