2009              Congratulations to This  Year 's WINNER - MONICA GROVES !!!

                                             EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

THIS AWARD IS GIVEN IN MEMORY OF EMMA HARPER, A RELATIVE OF

CHARLES LAWRENCE. MS HARPER TAUGHT FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS

IN THE HANCOCK COUNTY , GEORGIA. SHE MOSTLY TAUGHT THE SIXTH AND

SEVENTH GRADES. FOR MANY YEARS , YOU COULD NOT MEET A BLACK PER-

SON IN SPARTA, GEORGIA WHO HAD NOT BEEN TAUGHT BY MISS HARPER.

ONE OF HER FORMER STUDENTS WAS LESTER BUTTS, FORMER PRINCI-

PAL OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS HIGH SCHOOL IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA

DURING HER TENURE, SHE WAS RECOGNIZED AS "TEACHER OF THE YEAR"

NUMEROUS TIMES AND WAS ALSO CHOSEN AS THE "STAR TEACHER."

SHE WAS ACTIVE IN ALL FACETS OF HER CHURCH, EXPECIALLY IN THE SUN-

DAY SCHOOL WHERE SHE TAUGHT THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS FOR MANY

YEARS. SHE ATTENDED SUNDAY SCHOOL EVERY SUNDAY FOR AS LONG AS

SHE COULD. SHE WAS SO WELL LOVED AND RESPECTED IN HER COMMUNITY

THAT HER CHURCH SALUTED HER WITH A " MISS HARPER DAY" ON SEPTEM-

BER 29.1996. MS EMMIE HARPER, THE THIRD OF FOUR DAUGHTERS, WAS BORN

TO THE LATE GEORGE AND NANCY HARPER ON AUGUST 1, 1905 AND DE-

PARTED THIS LIFE OF JUNE 24,1999.

                                       EMMA HARPER AWARD WINNERS

    2007           JUANITA SETTLE

    2008           JOVITA WALLACE