Our LifeChanger of the Year awards season is still under way, although it will soon draw to a close.
We surprised teachers in Cleveland and Rochester over the past week with announcements that they were among the 2017-18 winners.
In Cleveland Ted Ginn Sr., who is director of the Ginn Academy as well as coach of the Glenville High School football team, was honored during a weekly Friday morning assembly with all of the schools at this unique public school.
Coach Ginn, as he is almost universally known, was nominated by Kathie Denise Williams, whose son was a student of Ginn’s and who is an agent representing National Life in Cleveland schools.
Kathie’s son was having a tough time in school so she transferred him to Ginn Academy, an all-boys school that concentrates on helping struggling students put their lives in order through personal mentoring. Kathie’s son went from a 1.9 grade point average to a 3.75 and a full academic scholarship to Notre Dame University.
Kathie was on hand for the surprise announcement that Coach Ginn is one of this year’s 10 national LifeChanger of the Year award winners.
In Rochester, Logan Newman was presented with another of this year’s national awards at an all-faculty and staff meeting of about 200 people.
Logan, who is a vision care teacher at East High School in Rochester, was honored for the work he does in helping his students learn about vision care and for providing that care to people in the community who need it.
Logan was an optician when he served in the U.S. Navy and he used that background to develop his curriculum at East High. Working with his students, he creates eyeglasses for students whose families can’t afford them.
Along the way, he introduces his students to a career field that they may not have otherwise considered. Several of his former students now work as opticians or in the optometry field.
Both Coach Ginn and Logan won $3,000 as part of their award, which is split evenly between them and their school. They were also presented with banners to be hung in the school and framed certificates.
Our finalists will travel to Bermuda next month for our annual Conference of Champions where the Grand Prize winner will be announced. All win at least $5,000 and the Grand Prize winner gets $10,000.
