2021 Green-Orr Award Winners Announced

General

8/13/2021

Congratulations to Lesia Tebbs, Brad Joiner and Stephanie Waldecker, the 2021 Green-Orr Award recipients!

Congratulations to Leisa Tebbs, Brad Joiner and Stephanie Waldecker, the 2021 Green-Orr Award recipients!

Since 2005, one Lower and one or two Middle/Upper School teachers have been recognized for excellence in their field with the Green-Orr Award. The award helps celebrate the achievements of our faculty and honors the memory of Juanita and Charles Green, Sr. and Roberta and Harry Orr, Jr., parents of Peggy and Charlie Green. Presented annually during the opening days for faculty and staff before the first day of school, the 2021 Green-Orr Award was presented to Leisa Tebbs, the physical education teacher in the Lower School; Brad Joiner, Latin and History teacher in the Upper School and Stephanie Waldecker, an Upper School Spanish teacher.

Coach Tebbs, Mr. Joiner and Mrs. Waldecker were selected for the award through a vote by fellow faculty members. Criteria for the award includes showing clear evidence and consistent support and advancement of Westminster's mission; demonstrating significant impact on students through regular contact via teaching, coaching, and/or mentoring; providing a positive Christian role model; and having completed at least five years on the faculty at Westminster.

The following are comments by Westminster Head of School, Brian Case as he presented the award.

Leisa Tebbs

Our first recipient has been part of the Westminster family for over 30 years, being a supportive wife, mother, coach, mentor, and teacher of physical education. With the work she does for the Lower School as a PE teacher and the Middle and Upper Schools as a tennis coach, she has affected all three levels of our school in an excellent way. At all levels, the students and teachers love her. Many of her peers have used words like dedicated, hard worker, team player, faithful, and full of joy to describe her. One even said they feel celebrated just by just being in her presence. Coach Leisa Tebbs provides an excellent field day experience for the Lower School year after year, which is far superior to anything seen at other schools. Leisa also represents Westminster Schools of Augusta with excellence in leading and competing in athletic events, her teams being strong competitors in all of their events. She demonstrates Christian character and love to our students and faculty, and displays her love of this school and God in everything she does. She has been faithful and loyal in her service to the school, and dedicated to her mission at Westminster Schools of Augusta.

Brad Joiner

Our next recipient has been part of the Westminster faculty for over 10 years. As an alum, parent, and teacher, this dedicated faculty member continually supports Westminster and our mission in many ways. Mr. Brad Joiner has taught in the History and Foreign Language departments, and his students, along with parents and teachers frequently comment that the passion he has for his subject matter is contagious. He is well organized and runs his classes very effectively. Students look forward to coming to his room and enjoy interacting with him outside of class. Teachers share that he is a joy to work with. In addition, Brad has overseen the 8th grade trip to Washington DC for years, and has assisted with the Cross Country team, both with much success. Brad is a team player and is always willing to step in where needed. As he steps into the role of teaching Latin this year, he has a great vision for continuing to build the program as he seeks to do all things with excellence. He is truly a lifelong learner and models this well for others.

Stephanie Waldecker

For the last 10 years, our final award winner has shared with her students and colleagues her passion for teaching and learning. Stepping into her foreign language classroom, you may encounter students speaking, singing, or praying in Spanish; performing plays with hand-crafted finger puppets, intensely competing in an online activity, or presenting their research on a Spanish-speaking country. Mrs. Stephanie Waldecker is always searching for new teaching tools, using her creativity and wide array of resources to engage every student in her classroom. She is organized and efficient, joyful and kind. She is unafraid to be intentional with students, holding high expectations for them, both academically and in having respect for one another. As one colleague commented, "Stephanie is extremely committed to doing things excellently. She goes above and beyond to help all of her students. It is not uncommon for her to be working with students early before school or late after school. She does all she can to help them succeed." She is a lifelong learner with tremendous enthusiasm for teaching and ministering to students.