Bright Ideas in Education
Past Winners

Click the links below to view the winners for each respective year.
1999-2000   |  2000-2001  |  2001-2002  |  2002-2003  |  2003-2004  |  2004-2005  |  2005-2006  |  2006-2007

In its first year of sponsoring the grant program (1999-2000 school year), French Broad EMC received forty-three applications from teachers at twenty-six schools for requests totaling over $51,000. It was a very difficult task for the evaluation team to narrow the field and choose eighteen recipients to total $15,000, the total awarded the first year. The recipients were:

Buncombe County:
Norma Johnston - Leicester Elementary
Ree Smith - Barnardsville Elementary
Steven Sandman - Barnardsville Elementary
Marti Svoboda-Sidelnick - North Buncombe Elementary
Phyllis Willard - Weaverville Primary
Robin Smathers and Mary Ann Athens - Weaverville Elementary
Leslie Hawes - Clyde A. Erwin Middle
Cammy Mesloh - Clyde A. Erwin Middle
Angela Tuck - North Buncombe High

Madison County:
Kathryn Fefer - Marshall Elementary
Carolyn Franklin - Madison Middle
Bradford Sprinkle - Madison High

Mitchell County:
Renee Johnson - Gouge Elementary
Janet Ouzts - Bowman Middle
Marisa Lawing Westall - Mitchell High

Yancey County:
Sheila Ramsey - Bee Log Elementary
Jeannie Davis - Burnsville Elementary
Jill Hensley - Clearmont Elementary


The 2000-2001 school year grant program again saw great interest. Forty-eight applications requesting a total exceeding $65,600 were evaluated. The recipients were:

Buncombe County:
Martha Cauble - North Buncombe Elementary
Rebecca Miller - Weaverville Primary

Madison County:
Willa Wyatt - Walnut Elementary
Betty Jane Ramsey - Laurel Elementary

Mitchell County:
Donna Johnson - Greenlee Primary

Unicoi County, TN:
Rebecca Cable - Unicoi County Middle

Yancey County:
Elizabeth Keith - Cane River Middle
Sharon Honeycutt - Micaville Elementary
Peter Bobbe - Mountain Heritage High
Theresa Sheets - Burnsville Elementary
Sheila Ramsey - Bee Log Elementary
Karen Fox - Bald Creek Elementary
Nelda Phillips - East Yancey Middle
Cheri Boone - East Yancey Middle


The success of the first two years of the program prompted the Board of Directors to overwhelmingly approve an increase in the total amount of the grant program. Even with the budget increase to $25,000 for the program, the selection of the winning grants was a tough job. Fifty-four applications from teachers and principals at twenty-five schools requested grants totaling over $64,000. The maximum amount an educator could be awarded remained $1500. The 2001-2002 school year recipients were:

Buncombe County:
Carol Blair - North Buncombe Elementary
Marsha Boone - North Buncombe Elementary
Aimee Gaston - North Buncombe Elementary
Marti Svoboda - North Buncombe Elementary
Phyllis Stowe - North Buncombe Elementary
Marie Ray - North Buncombe Elementary
Cammy Mesloh - Clyde A. Erwin Middle
Randolph Flint - Clyde A. Erwin High

Madison County:
Faith Lezy - Laurel Elementary
Georgina Ray - Mars Hill Elementary
Brad Sprinkle - Madison High School

Mitchell County:
Donna Johnson - Greenlee Primary
Diane Wiseman - Greenlee Primary
Debbie Forbes - Greenlee Primary
Beth Hall - Greenlee Primary
Angela Holtzclaw - Mitchell High
Carolyn McKinney - Harris Middle
Michelle Lord - Deyton Elementary
Jennifer Reed - Gouge Elementary
Sarah Hobart - Gouge Elementary
Colby Calhoun, Morgen Houchard - Bowman Middle

Unicoi County, TN:
Elizabeth Clark - Unicoi County Middle
Evelyn Dwyer - Unicoi High

Yancey County:
Kimberly Adams - Cane River Middle/East Yancey Middle
Stacie Burleson - Cane River Middle
Sheila Ramsey - Bee Log Elementary
Beth Temple - Burnsville Elementary
Nelda Phillips - East Yancey Middle


The fourth year of the grant program saw a substantial increase in the number of applications received, due to the tight financial situation the state's school system found itself in. Seventy-six applications were received requesting grants totaling over $86,000. The recipients for the 2002-2003 school year were:

Buncombe County:
Ana Blanton - Barnardsville Elementary
Lillian Riddle - Barnardsville Elementary
Cammy Jacobelly - Clyde A. Erwin Middle
Mary K. Hale - Leicester Elementary
Cindy Strandt - Leicester Elementary
Latonya Walters - N. Buncombe Elementary
Carol Blair - North Buncombe Elementary
Marti Sidelnick - North Buncombe Elementary
Archie Benton - North Buncombe High
Deborah Aldridge - North Buncombe High
Martha Cauble - North Windy Ridge
Jennifer Shelton, Vernice Troutman - Weaverville Elementary

Madison County:
Selina Worley - Brush Creek Elementary
Sara Sagar - Brush Creek Elementary
Faith Lezy - Laurel Elementary
Betty Jane Ramsey - Laurel Elementary
Brad Sprinkle - Madison High
Stephanie Cody - Mars Hill Elementary

Mitchell County:
Kathryn Hollifield - Bowman Middle
Mimi Rezzonica - Buladean Elementary
Michelle Lord - Deyton Elementary
Sarah Hobart - Gouge Elementary
Donna Johnson - Greenlee Primary
Carolyn Dotts - Harris Middle

Yancey County:
Rebecca Fox - Bald Creek Elementary
Jeannie Davis - Burnsville Elementary
Miranda Elkins - Cane River Middle
Karen Bach - Cane River Middle
Susan Buchanan - Clearmont Elementary
Ron Powell - East Yancey Middle
Tim Babb - Mountain Heritage High

Unicoi County, TN:
Betty Lewis - Unicoi Middle School
Ellen Reinhardt - Unicoi Middle School


Sixty-five applications were received for the 2003-2004 school year with requests for funding totaling $74,400. The grant awards went to:

Buncombe County:
Loree Capps - Barnardsville Elementary
Eric Cedergren - Barnardsville Elementary
Marti Svoboda-Sidelnick - North Buncombe Elementary
Marsha Boone - North Buncombe Elementary
Heidi Allison - North Buncombe Elementary

Madison County:
Martha Hoyt - Laurel Elementary
Brad Sprinkle - Madison High
Suzanne Duvall - Madison High
Christiaan Ramsey - Madison Middle

Mitchell County:
Kristie Autrey - Deyton Elementary
Michelle Stafford - Gouge Elementary
Jennifer Cox - Gouge Elementary
Libby Miller - Greenlee Primary
Michelle Lord - Greenlee Primary
Deborah Owings - Greenlee Primary
John Cherry - Mitchell High
Patty Hughes - Mitchell High

Yancey County:
Deborah Hensley - Bald Creek Elementary
Tamara Presnell - Bald Creek Elementary
Belinda Burleson - Bald Creek Elementary
Kim Rathburn - Burnsville Elementary
Patty McIntosh - Burnsville Elementary
Nelda Phillips - Cane River Middle
Crystal Hendrix - Clearmont Elementary
Penni Robinson - East Yancey Middle
Angel Willis - Mountain Heritage High
Karen Fox - South Toe Elementary

Unicoi County, TN:
Donna Gardner - Unicoi County Middle
Tracy Hoilman - Unicoi High

2004-2005 saw no decrease in the interest in the grants. Sixty-seven applications were received requesting $82,109. The twenty-two winners were:

Buncombe County:
Delana Drabb - Barnardsville Elementary
Eric Cedergren - Barnardsville Elementary
Jim Ellington - Leicester Elementary
Marti Svoboda-Sidelnick - North Buncombe Elementary
Susan Jensen - North Windy Ridge
Deborah Aldridge - North Buncombe High

Madison County:
Betty Jane Ramsey - Laurel Elementary
Naomia Rogers - Mars Hill Elementary
Brad Sprinkle - Madison High

Mitchell County:
Mimi Rezzonico - Buladean Elementary
Dana Hollifield - Deyton Elementary
Gregory Franklin - Deyton Elementary
Libby Miller - Greenlee Primary
Jennifer Gregory - Harris Middle
Patty Hughes - Mitchell High

Yancey County
Carol Hughes - Bald Creek Elementary
Wanda Renfro - Bee Log Elementary
James Pate - Clearmont Elementary
Miranda Elkins - Cane River Middle
Lisa Mauney - East Yancey Middle
Tim Babb - Mountain Heritage High

Unioci County, TN
Elizabeth Clarke - Unicoi County Middle

In 2005-2006 FBEMC awarded $25,000 in Bright Ideas grants for twenty-eight projects to improve instruction at eighteen schools in or near the area served by the cooperative. The cooperative received sixty-eight applications from teachers requesting grants totaling $82,922.  “With these new grants, our cooperative has now contributed a total of $155,000.00 to area schools over the past seven years,” said Mary Brown, Bright Ideas coordinator for the co-op. The public school teachers who were awarded the grants are:

Buncombe County:
Patricia Atkins – Weaverville Primary
Kay Aubrey – Weaverville Elementary
Marti Svoboda-Sidelnick – North Buncombe Elementary
Susan Jensen – North Windy Ridge School

Madison County:
Janet Bean – Mars Hill Elementary
Mitzi Pearson – Mars Hill Elementary
Brad Sprinkle – Madison High
Erika Schneider – Madison High

Yancey County:
Carol Hughes – Bald Creek Elementary
Sunshine Williams – Bald Creek Elementary
Tamara Presnell – Bald Creek Elementary
Christy Deyton – Bee Log Elementary
Karen Fox – South Toe Elementary
Margot Atuk – South Toe Elementary
Michelle Geouge – East Yancey Middle
Lucy Beth Pearce – Mountain Heritage High

Mitchell County:
Beth Hall – Greenlee Primary
Donna Johnson – Greenlee Primary
Kishia Moore – Deyton Elementary
Greg Franklin – Deyton Elementary
Dana Hollifield – Deyton Elementary
Tamara Houchard – Bowman Middle
Tonya Neas – Bowman Middle
Gay Garland – Mitchell High
Rhonda Phillips – Mitchell High

Unicoi County, Tennessee:
Kristen Allen – Temple Hill Elementary
Tommy Church – Unicoi County Middle
Evelyn Dwyer – Unicoi County High

In 2006-2007 the cooperative received seventy-five applications from teachers requesting grants totaling $89,537. The seventeen winners were:

Buncombe County:
Marti Svoboda-Sidelnick – North Buncombe Elementary
Jamie Laws; Sara Guerard – Clyde A. Erwin Middle
Lorie McFee; Charlotte Lewis – North Buncombe High

Madison County:
Heather Webb – Brush Creek Elementary
Katty Hunter – Hot Springs Elementary
Crystal Blankenship – Mars Hill Elementary
Roslyn Carney – Madison Middle
Sherry Barnette – Madison High

Mitchell County:
Deborah Owings – Greenlee Primary
Ashlyn Whitson – Deyton Elementary
Laura Cole; Tamara Houchard – Gouge Elementary
Amelia Garland – Harris Middle

Yancey County:
Eric Cedergren; Nora Lusk; Rachel Murphy – Micaville Elementary
Karen Fox/Debbie Hensley – South Toe Elementary
Thomas Surber – Mountain Heritage High

Unicoi County, Tennessee:
Tommy Church – Unicoi County Middle
Amy Edwards – Unicoi County High