UPDATE 10 P.M. —
Fifth grade reading teacher Angela Mitchell is the first inductee into the Hall of Heroes at Vincent Elementary School.
She was chosen in Thursday night’s ceremony among dozens of community members chosen by elementary students in the area.
Other finalists considered included Theangelo Perkins, school bus driver and pastor; Candis Schiller, Youth Minister; Jackson McGinnis, 11th grade student; and Adam Wills, a youth coach.
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VINCENT, Ala. (WIAT) — Elementary students recently nominated dozens of unsung heroes in their eastern Shelby County community for a prestigious award that is the first of its kind.
Students in the 5th-grade class nominated more than 60 community members for recognition and teamed up with high school students to select five finalists. The finalists will be named in a Thursday ceremony at Vincent Middle High School starting at 6:30 p.m., with food trucks, starting service at 5 p.m.
“One lucky person is going to be inducted into the first-ever Hall of Heroes and through that there will be a plaque that will be proudly hanging at the Vincent Elementary School to memorialize this and to serve as an example for all of our youth on what it means to be a hero and to be a positive impact in the community,“ said Russell Bedsole, who is part of the Leadership Shelby County Class of 2019.
Bedsole said the Hall of Heroes is a project that Leadership Shelby County members are working on alongside leaders at Vincent schools; however, the goal is for other schools to adopt the program as well.
Malie Kate Clark, a 5th-grade student at Vincent Elementary School, told CBS 42 she nominated her reading teacher, Mrs. Angela Mitchell, for the Hall of Heroes.
“She helped me with my word study when I was struggling with it,“ Clark said. “She helps my whole class and the whole grade with reading fluently and I just think that she helps a lot and so I chose her.“
Jackson McGinnis, 16, was also nominated for the Hall of Heroes. He is in the 11th grade at Vincent High School and is a founding member of the student-led group called The Ones which spends time reading to elementary students, reminding them to stay focused on their school work and teaching them what it means to be a leader.
“We were like going through tough times and stuff and like people were thinking we were something we’re not and we just made the group to show them we weren’t how they were making us out to be,“ McGinnis said.
He said he is honored that he was nominated.
“I just like to know that they look up to me and I’m leading them in a good direction,“ McGinnis said.
Joel Dixon, the human resources supervisor for Shelby County Schools, told CBS 42 the Hall of Heroes allows students to recognize leaders within the community who are not always in the limelight.
“I hope for our recipients — our honorees — I hope they realize everybody can be a leader, that’s one of the tenants of the leader in me program,“ Dixon said. “Everyone can be a leader, so in some form or capacity we can all make a positive impact in our communities.“
This article will be updated after a winner is announced.
