By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer
Several local teachers win Golden Apple Awards for their dedication.

AUBURN – Marie Fowler didn’t know what to think last spring when a bright bouquet of flowers, a restaurant gift certificate and a limousine voucher arrived at her classroom door.

A busy first-grade teacher at Greene Central School, she didn’t often get deliveries, let alone a small treasure trove.

“Maybe my husband was being romantic,” she said.

But when Fowler opened the certificate that came with the gifts, it was a radio station’s name she saw. And a golden apple logo.

A student, a parent, a co-worker – an anonymous someone – wanted to thank her for her teaching.

“I thought Somebody likes me?'” she said.

On Wednesday, a few months after getting her award notice, Fowler and eight others were honored by Maine first lady Karen Baldacci and Nassau Broadcasting for their dedication to teaching. They were Golden Apple Award winners.

“They impact the future,” Baldacci said after a short speech at the luncheon. “As a special teacher, you really have to have an underlying belief in children, an unconditional belief in them. They do.”

Nassau Broadcasting, the company that owns Frank-FM, WLAM and other area radio stations, spearheaded the awards for the second year in a row. Every month, stations asked listeners to nominate teachers for a Golden Apple Award. Fifteen to 20 people did each month, sometimes writing lengthy, heartfelt letters about the teachers they loved. A four-person committee from Nassau chose one winner every month based solely on those nominating letters.

In May, each of the nine winners received a bouquet of flowers and a few small prizes, along with a certificate and an invitation to attend an honors luncheon in August. Six of the winners were from this area.

Few knew who nominated them.

“What I’m most curious about is how I got here,” said Brenda McKee, an English teacher from Lisbon High School, as she waited for the luncheon to start.

Although a teacher for 38 years, McKee had never won an award for her work in the classroom. She liked the flowers, but passed on the limousine ride because she figured it was a waste of gas. She enjoyed the appreciation.

“It’s like icing on the cake, knowing someone was affected by your teaching. It’s humbling. There are so many excellent teachers,” she said.

Susan Boyce, a health teacher at Gray-New Gloucester High School, agreed. She had been nominated for Maine’s Teacher of the Year twice, but when a high school senior told her that he’d nominated her for a Golden Apple, she felt especially honored.

“Just the sheer fact that he thought of me was good enough,” she said.

Unless their secret sponsors speak up, the other winners will never know who nominated them. Nassau Broadcasting didn’t keep the nominating letters.

For Fowler, who left a career in business management for the classroom, knowing who and why would have been nice. But she already feels rewarded.

“I see a child’s eyes just pop and the light comes on. To me, that’s what makes a special career, that little yell I get it!'” she said.

Golden Apple winners include: Drea Beale of Poland Regional High School, Brenda McKee of Lisbon High School, Maurice Hyde of Lewiston Regional Technical Center, Rebecca Poat of Livermore Elementary School, Marie Fowler of Greene Central School, Susan Boyce of Gray-New Gloucester High School, Mary Cobb of Baldwin Consolidated School, Andrea Cayer of Cape Elizabeth High School and Dave Hollander of South Portland High School. Beale, Hyde and Hollander were unable to attend the honors luncheon Wednesday.