“Teachers Inspire” will be theme of 2020 Grants Award Luncheon

Nearly 70 recipients of grants from the La Crosse Public Education Foundation, plus a local business and two individuals, will be honored on Jan. 21, 2020, at the annual LPEF Grants Award Luncheon.

The luncheon – presented by Festival Foods – runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Cargill Room at The Waterfront, 332 Front Street South. Doors open at 11 and lunch is served at 11:25, with a program to follow. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at Eventbrite for an added fee of $3.16.

Or download a printable RSVP card and mail it along with payment to LPEF at PO Box 1811, La Crosse, WI 54602.

Darryle Clott

“Teachers Inspire” is the theme of this year’s event, featuring remarks by Darryle Clott, a longtime area educator and 2019 Mrs. Oktoberfest. Clott, who retired from teaching in 2004 at La Crescent High School, is an associate in the Ethics in Leadership Institute at Viterbo University.

Clott is well known for her work to advance the teaching of the Holocaust in schools. She leads Holocaust Educator Workshops each year at Viterbo and has been instrumental in bringing Holocaust survivors to the La Crosse community each year, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel. She is a Teacher Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.

LPEF supports teaching of the Holocaust in La Crosse schools through special grant funding provided annually by the Maureen and Robert Freedland Shoah Study Grants program.

Festival Foods is the presenting sponsor of the 2020 Grants Award Luncheon.

The luncheon is a celebration of innovation in the La Crosse public schools and features recognition of many of the teachers and other educators who have received grants from LPEF in the past year. This includes Gold Star grants awarded in March and in December, plus a number of other special grants awarded throughout the year, including Shoah Studies grants.

In addition to honoring teachers, the event — which is scheduled annually on a District inservice day to allow teachers and other educators to attend — includes special recognition for:

Corporate Partner in Education — Trust Point

Margaret Dihlmann-Malzer Distinguished Service Award — Tammy Larson, who is retiring from the LPEF Board

Richard Swantz Leadership Award — Mark White, the District Director of Human Resources

The program will include a special salute to the late Richard Swantz, the longtime superintendent of schools and co-founder of LPEF, who died Oct. 15 at the age of 84.

Download a copy of the full Grants Award Luncheon invitation here.

Sponsorships start at $150 and Table Sponsorships are available for $300. For information on supporting this event, or LPEF, please contact Executive Director David Stoeffler at (608) 787-0226, or by email at:  david@lacrosseeducationfoundation.org