Annette Todd has been named the 2025 recipient of the Brantley County Retired Educators Association $500 scholarship.
Todd has been pursuing a teaching degree to transition from paraprofessional to teacher. She is widely known for her excellence and devotion to her students, and many of her colleagues are rooting for her in high expectations of seeing her bring that same quality to “her own” classroom.
BCREA has awarded $500 scholarships to Brantley County Board of Education employees each of the last three years.
It’s awarded to those who are working toward degrees or certifications to increase their knowledge and skills, and therefore make them even more effective educators for Brantley County students.
In BCREA’s first year of the scholarship (2023), the recipient was a beloved (and incredibly effective) educator who was working toward a higher-education degree.
Last year’s (2024) scholarship awardee was a long-term sub with a degree, but who was teaching “out of field” and had to obtain certification in his teaching field to continue in his position. (He has also been very involved in many extra-curricular activities, blessing many students beyond the classroom.)
The biggest challenge for the BCREA in maintaining this scholarship is funding.
This year, the scholarship committee decided to try a multifaceted approach.
They held a yard sale and bake sale in March. Many BCREA members stepped up and donated a wide variety of items to sell.
Kleve Mathie, owner of local business “Wee Clean” and generous community supporter, allowed BCREA to use his property in downtown Nahunta for the event. Without that the group is convinced that the sale would not have been the success it was.
The other funding mechanism for this year’s scholarship was a raffle with quite a number of local businesses (and a couple of individuals) making generous donations of a wide variety of goods that clearly were “good draws.”
This allowed members to sell scores of tickets. Thanks also to the BCREA member, and other community members who took the time and effort to help sell tickets.
Brantley County businesses and community members who donated items for the raffle included Farmers and Builders Ace Hardware (Nahunta), BC Designs, Caney Bay (Shine & Sawdust), Coastal Creations, Designs Unlimited, Frosty Freeze, Hoboken Building Supply, OREMC, Page’s Apparel, Ruby Ann Sawyer, Sheila Smith and Twin Vogue Boutique.
Many thanks to these local supporters who generously showed their heart for our Brantley County Schools and school employees in partnering with the BCREA to award this scholarship.
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