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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2003

News Release

Idaho Custodian Named Top Education Support Professional

Orlando, Fla. - Martin (Marty) Meyer, head custodian at Fernan Elementary School in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was named Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year by the National Education Association (NEA). The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, is NEA's highest honor for professionals in the field of educational support. Meyer's work with children, his school, his community, his fellow educators, and his state earned him this honor.

"The epitome of educational excellence," is how Idaho Education Association President Kathy Phelan describes Meyer. "Marty is a consummate educator and role model for children. He believes his job is to support school personnel and children so that teaching and learning can be done in a clean, safe, and secure environment. This philosophy guides his work in the community as well as in his school."

In presenting Meyer with the ESP of the Year Award, NEA President Reg Weaver said, "Marty Meyer is a tribute to the 350,000 Education Support Professionals across the country. Marty's job doesn't begin - nor end - at the schoolhouse door. Whether he's testifying in Boise for ESP legislation, lobbying in Washington, D.C., writing letters to the editor, running a political campaign, or challenging - and educating - public education's foes, Marty's giving it his all and he's doing it for the children he works with every day of the week."

Meyer's friends say that describing him as a jack-of-all-trades doesn't do him justice. As head custodian of a 49,500 square foot elementary school, his responsibilities - and philosophy - extend far beyond the simple cleaning of the facility. Meyer says his job is "to make sure teachers concentrate on teaching, food service workers on feeding children, and office personnel on caring for children and parents."

Meyer makes time for music as well. A talented musician, he often is called on to sing and play at school assemblies and in classrooms. For preschool or the older grades, Meyer can usually find a song to fit any event or curriculum - whether it's Arbor Day or zoo animals.

Named the "Classified Employee of the Year" by the Coeur d'Alene Education Association in 2000, Meyer was instrumental in opening two new elementary schools in the district. A member of the Association since 1989, he was the first - and is now the only - ESP on the district's insurance committee. An active membership recruiter, Meyer also currently serves as the Association's treasurer as well as a building membership representative.

NEA's ESP of the Year receives a $10,000 award, half of which is presented to the charity of his or her choice. The funds are contributed annually by Gardner Rich and Co., Inc., a Chicago brokerage firm that also supports recognition programs for outstanding teaching. Marty Meyer's contribution will go to Habitat for Humanity and the Idaho Children's Fund, which provides needed items and services for district students. The Fund is supported entirely by IEA members.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.