Wednesday, May 1st

For Teachers (See Below for More Detail):

3 p.m. Hotel and Teacher of the Year Registration begins at Sheraton Columbia Downtown. Teachers and their guests need to register here, at the hotel, for the Teacher of the Year Celebration — NOT at the convention center. (Dress for the evening is business formal.)

4:00 – 5:15 Photographer available (at the Columbia Museum of Art) to take commemorative photos for all TOYS.  (With 87 teachers, arriving early for your picture will ensure you have time to enjoy the Kickoff Reception!)

4:30 – 5:30 At Columbia Museum of Art, Data Recognition Corp. hosts the Kickoff Reception for all district Teachers of the Year and their registered guests.

For All — At the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center (See Below for More Detail)

5:45 — Teachers of the Year  to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, site of the SC Teacher of the Year Celebration.

6:00 – Donor and guest registration opens for the 2012 South Carolina Teacher of the Year Celebration. (Dress is business formal.)

6:00 — 7:00  - "Networking with Your Neighbors" reception, sponsored by BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina.

7:00 – 7:50 – Dinner

8:00 – 9:00 – South Carolina Teacher of the Year Celebration! 

Thursday, May 2nd

Teachers Only:

8:00 – Teachers board bus at hotel to go to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral for breakfast sponsored by Bojangles'.

9:15 – Teachers walk across Sumter Street to begin Statehouse Visit sponsored by Mueller's Pasta.

9:30 –  Press conference and special announcement by Gov. Nikki Haley and Bojangles' CEO  and former South Carolina public school student Randy Kibler.

10:00 — Teachers recognized in state House, followed by state Senate

Around Noon – Teachers board bus for ride back to hotel. SC Teacher of the Year Celebration concludes!

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For teachers, the early hours of the evening revolve around the Sheraton. Registration for teachers will occur at the hotel, and a Kick-Off reception for teachers and their guests (dinner registered guests only, please) begins at 4:30 at the Columbia Museum of Art sponsored by Data Recognition Corp. Representatives from SC's Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement will be available to greet and assist teachers. There, all district Teachers of the Year have a chance to get a complimentary photo made, and then mingle and enjoy refreshments. 

For all guests,  the teacher arrival at 5:55 is a chance to cheer on the teachers in an informal setting before the "Networking with Your Neighbors" Reception sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield begins at 6 p.m. in the convention center. There, the state’s top educators, CEOs and lawmakers have an opportunity to mingle while enjoying the complimentary open bar and free-flowing hors d’oeuvres. Registration for non-teacher donors and guests begins at 6 p.m., with the assistance of South Carolina Teaching Fellows.

Shortly before 7 p.m., dinner bells will chime and the crowd will move into an elegantly decorated ballroom where patrons will enjoy a delicious dinner. About 7:45, preparations begin for the formal part of the evening, which is taped by SCETV for re-broadcast across the TimeWarner Cable network to roughly 500,000  households.

Emcee Mark Quinn, former host of SCETV’s “The Big Picture”, kicks off the evening with introductions of all district Teachers of the Year. State Education Superintendent Dr. Mick Zais will welcome the crowd.   Also appearing: the winner of  the "This School's Got Talent" statewide talent search, sponsored by BB&T and organized by SC Future Minds. The winner will be announced April 1.

The evening is scheduled to end promptly at 9 p.m. shortly after announcement of the 2013-14 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.

 

See you at the largest celebration of South Carolina public education!

For more information, email info@scfutureminds.org or call 803-741-5646.