Golden Acorn and Outstanding Educator Awards

Each year, our PTSA recognizes outstanding volunteers with a Golden Acorn award and exceptional educators with an Outstanding Educator award.

The Golden Acorn Award honors people who have given exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our school community. Recipients volunteer in ways that meet the mission of PTA: promoting the health, welfare, safety and education of ALL children and youth.
The Outstanding Educator Award was created by PTSAs to recognize individuals who have gone beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging. An outstanding educator can be a teacher, specialist, assistant, support staff, custodian, bus driver, administrator or community member.

Each Golden Acorn and Outstanding Educator Award recipient is given an award pin and his/her name is added to a plaque in the main office. In addition, our PTSA contributes $65 in the recipient’s name to the Washington State PTA Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships for post-secondary students.
Golden Acorn recipients are honored at a PTSA meeting and at a district-wide reception. Outstanding Educators are honored at an IMS staff meeting.

Nominations for both are solicited in January-February each year. The deadline date for nominations can be found on the nomination forms, on PTSA home page, and in the Panther Press.

For more information about these awards, please contact Anne Watanabe, watanabe05@yahoo.com
Kristen Allen-Bentsen, kallenbentsen@hotmail.com, PTSA Golden Acorn/Outstanding Educator Chairperson.
  Golden Acorn Nomination Form
  Outstanding Educator Nomination Form
Our PTSA awards a Golden Acorn or Outstanding Educator award to volunteers and educators only once during their years of service to Issaquah Middle. Here are our past award recipients.


Golden Acorn Award Recipients

1960 - Bill Bergsma, Sr.
1961 - Charles Fallstrom
1969 - Richard Carlson
1971 - Louise Carty
1972 - George Morgan
1973 - Daisy Cox
1974 - Ron Hanlen
1975 - Mary Ann Walker
1976 - Emma Hudspeth
1977 - Josephine Garner
1978 - Jessie Semon
1979 - Barbara Hinds
1980 - Sandy Roundy
1981 - Andrea Mangold, Madeline Neault
1982 - Ted Zimmerman
1983 - Dianne Tanner, Douglas Tanner
1984 - Oline Gruening
1985 - Nedra Foshee
1989 - Nancy Peterson, Craig Schieber
1990 - Ed Decker, John Macartney, Luanne Sparks
1991 - Wanda Ficker, Darcy Strand
1992 - Anita Beatty, Sandy Grace, Bill Hennegar
1993 - Carol Farr, Pam Gray, Terry Kirkpatrick
1994 - Marilyn Luckman, Carol Penney, Pat Randall
1995 - Barbara Boulden Galler, Richard Buckley, Sheryl Goldsberry, Steve Lumbard
1996 - Judy Brewer, Diana Herman, Pat Magruder, Barbara Shelton
1997 - Karen Dealy, Ann Fletcher, Barbara Harris, Cathy Nicks
1998 - Daphne Diast, Becky Havekost, Mary McKenzie, Garron Smith
1999 - Raeanne Balzarini, Neva Luke, Donna Rask
2000 - Paula Bondo, Kellie Lavigne, Jill Paxton, Jerine Richardson
2001 - Donna Adler, Mary Lou Pauly, Lorrie Pease
2002 - Perri Bernard, Caryn Cissna, Katie Richardson, Janette Wray
2003 - Lynnie Laks, Mary Lou Pauly, Margie Tinsley
2004 - Virginia Meacham, Pamela Ratcliffe, Hester Winn
2005 - Deed Chase, Patricia Flynn, Susan Gierke, Lori VanDeMark
2006 - Dianne Bugge’, Lisa Gaan, Susan Hegedus, Anne Moore
2007 - Karin Allen, Jane Lee, Susan McDonald
2008 - Mila Hover, Joy McIlvaine
2009 - Blair Baumer, Sandra Lum, Alison Meryweather
2010 - Sally Brunette, Kim Dreiblatt
2011 - Camille Vaska
2012 - Kristen Allen-Bentsen, Anne Watanabe, Elaine Sakamoto


Outstanding Educator Award Recipients
2001 - Alice Britt, Marilyn Luckman
2003 - Bob Gerde
2004 - Amy Berreth, Ron Thiele
2005 - Kurt Wieland
2006 - Kathryn Coffin, Lorna Gilmour
2007 - Corrine DeRosa, Mark Dorsett, John Mejlaender
2008 - Megan Consolati, Karen Lee, Susie Smith
2009 - Julie Braithwaite, Kathy Gottlieb, Robert Kirkham
2010 - Seth Adams, Michelle Pickard, Ann Swiftney
2011 - Terry Shade
2012 - Tracy Brewster