BETHALTO - The Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 honored employees during their eighth annual Golden Eagle Award Ceremony.
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On Thursday, April 23, 2026, employees and their families gathered at the Central Office for the award ceremony, where many teachers and staff members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the district. Jen Weber, the district’s Special Education Coordinator, conceptualized the Golden Eagle Awards and expressed her excitement to honor this year’s awardees.
“We have recognized hundreds of Bethalto’s finest, and yet we could literally recognize hundreds more,” Weber said. “The staff we are highlighting today are not the ones that just do their jobs well, but the ones that go above and beyond, day in and day out.”
Weber kicked off the ceremony by naming Ashley Wallis as her Golden Eagle recipient in the special education department.
Each school chose four recipients. Bethalto East Primary School Principal Chrissy Pavlinek and Assistant Principal/Pre-K Coordinator Alexis Hasty recognized Gina Schmidt, Ashlee Robinson, Karissa Lowrance and Susan Jarman.
Parkside Primary School Principal Abby Carlson introduced Barbara Cook, Kim Lehnen, Crystal Courtoise and Lindsey Steinmann and commended them for their work.
Shelby Norris, principal of Meadowbrook Intermediate School, thanked Lorna Price, Sarah Lyle, Matthew Zimmer and Lucas Angelo for their contributions to the school.
Trimpe Middle School’s leadership team — Principal Laura Gipson, Assistant Principal Sandy Erzen and Assistant Principal Lucas Reincke — recognized Suzie Moore, Brianna Wooley, Nikki Barker and Amy Fischer.
Civic Memorial High School Principal Justin Newell and Assistant Principals Renee Reznack, Lucas Meyer and Derek Jarman brought up Charlie Baldwin, Charlie Brown, Marcie Stevens and Pam McPherson.
Terinna Harris, Director of Transportation, recognized Laura Retzer and Joyce Kimber for their work in the district. Bill Stratton, Director of Maintenance, thanked Donnie Mennemeier for his commitment.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Alyssa Smith introduced Morgan Deardeuff, Director of Human Resources, as the Central Office staff member to receive the Golden Eagle Award.
Superintendent Dr. Jill Griffin rounded out the ceremony by naming Deana McDonough as the Overall District Golden Eagle recipient. McDonough is a behavior interventionist for the district.
Griffin thanked the staff for their work and commended everyone who received a Golden Eagle Award. She expressed her appreciation for the people who make the ceremony possible.
“[It’s important] to honor and recognize the people in our district who are making an impact, the people that we don’t necessarily see all the things that they’re doing behind the scenes that impact the students that we serve, and they do it with a servant’s heart,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite things that we do, because it provides us an opportunity to pay tribute to those who deserve this honor.”
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