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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 1998

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Carter Foshee, a public school electrician from Broken Bow, Okla., was honored at a banquet here April 17 as the National Education Association's outstanding Educational Support Personnel (ESP) member for the year 1998.

The presentation was made by NEA Vice President Reg Weaver during the organization's April 16-19 ESP conference at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel. The event drew more than 700 members from throughout the United States.

In recognition of Foshee's contributions and demonstrated leadership, Gardner Rich & Co., Inc., a brokerage house headquartered in Chicago, awarded him $10,000. This year marks the first time a stipend has been provided to the winner. Half of the monetary award is to be used for educational purposes, while the balance is for Foshee's personal use.

As an NEA member since 1992, Foshee has helped school support workers gain opportunities to participate in the decision-making that affects their own rights as employees and promotes the welfare of schoolchildren. As the chief negotiator of his local union's contract, he brought dignity and respect to fellow employees. He also organized communities throughout Oklahoma to reject private services that are better provided by contract school employees. On his own, Foshee traveled distances of up to 260 miles to hear education employees' grievances and help them protect their jobs and gain a greater voice.

He has served as president of the Edmond, Okla., NEA-ESP local and has been a member of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Education Association for the past three years, taking an active role on its legislative task force. The 40-year-old Foshee has been a leader not only in the education field but also with the community fire department, in youth activities, safety campaigns, and his church. "Foshee is the kind of person you would like to work with in your school, in your community, and in your church," Weaver praised. "I can't figure out where he finds time to do all the good things he does."

Added OEA Vice President Ray Bishop, who nominated Foshee for the award, "Carter Foshee is a leader who is making the difference for his profession and the children of Oklahoma."

A master journeyman electrician of Choctaw and Cherokee heritage, Foshee has five children of his own, ranging in age from 17 to 6. He and his wife Teri are active in the children's schools and Little League. He also teaches teen Bible study and is a song leader in his church.

He is the first American Indian to win the prestigious honor. Gardner Rich has also underwritten awards for the National Teacher of the Year and the State Teacher of the Year conference. The company has agreed to underwrite the ESP award every year.

The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.