2023 September BEST Winners

Lee Braddock, Nominated by a Colleague

Lee cares about the appearance of the school. He kept the trash picked up and changed during convocation. He also took time to set up for the event; he was meticulous and took efforts of precision to make sure everything had its correct place, even the floor mats at the door.

During convocation Lee worked hard to create a cross breeze and set up industrial fans to cool down the hallway. When he ran out of fans, he also set up air purifiers to blow air because of the humidity. When he was offered breakfast, he simply waved with a “thank you, but I have work to do”.

When vendors ran out of bags for staff to use to put their goodies in, Lee started handing out small can liners to his fellow Bearcats. He saw a need and he had the means to help and he is the kind of person that always helps. Lee Braddock strikes me as exceedingly kind in every situation. He greets every individual with the biggest and kindest smile. I don’t even know him on a personal level but every interaction he seems genuinely thoughtful and respectful.

Kevin Engwiller, Nominated by Community Member

It rained all night on August 2nd. On August 3rd I heard a loud crash in our front yard and looked out to see a rain soaked trunk from a large tree in our front yard had broken off. It was laying across both lanes of the street in front of our house. I ran out to clear the tangle of branches so cars could get through.

I am eighty years old and gave away my chain saws years ago. All I had to use to clear the roadway was a bow-saw, which is good for pruning small branches, but pathetically inadequate for clearing the heavy trunk and branches I was faced with. I hurried to cut what branches I could, pulling a few out of the road, while also directing traffic through the narrow passage I had managed to clear.

As I sawed away at a medium sized branch, a white SUV stopped in the roadway. The driver jumped out, hurried to the back of his vehicle, then came towards me firing up a Stihl chain saw. A young woman passenger hopped out and quickly began helping me clear the branches as he cut them. He carefully cut away the large branches weighing heavily on my mailbox so it remained undamaged. Because of this help, the road was cleared and branches piled at the edge of my yard in about 20 minutes. If he had not stopped I would have had to call a tree service and paid to have the tree removed. My thanks was accepted but he hurried away because he had to get to work. I got his first name and the fact he was employed with Bristol Virginia Public Schools. Thank you from a grateful Bristol neighbor!

Brittany Minnick, Nominated by a Parent

Ms. Minnick has built a program that not only encourages learning but also builds confidence in kids that absolutely need someone rooting for them and in their corner. Her ability to listen to children that cannot communicate is amazing. She ensures that, even though special needs might change how school looks, those kids get an equal educational experience.

Greg Nelson, Nominated by a Colleague

Greg is always ready to handle any situation in the cafeteria during all three lunches. The students respect him when he reminds them to throw their trash in the can. Any time I have asked him to help in my classroom he is ready to do so. When I have furniture that needs to be moved all I do is ask him and he will either do it then or come and help me when I am ready. I feel he is an asset to this school and is definitely missed when he is not here. Too many times the custodial staff get overlooked unless the job has not been done.