Shaping Future Leaders: A Conversation with the 2024 Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year Alison Garrett

When the spotlight turns to an educator's passion and impact, it's not just a celebration, it's a revelation of the heart and soul poured into molding future leaders. Alison Garrett steps into our world as the 2024 Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year, sharing her serendipitous journey from being outside the DECA circle during her own school years to becoming a beacon of guidance for her students at West Henderson High School. Her story unfolds, illustrating the transformative power of education and the unexpected paths that lead to inspiring the business moguls of tomorrow.

During our heart-to-heart with Alison, the joy in her voice is unmistakable as she recounts the successes of her DECA advisees, who now stride confidently in the professional world. This episode isn't just about honoring a Hometown Hero; it's a reflection on the profound influences shaping young minds, the competitive edge honed through programs like DECA, and the ripple effect of a dedicated teacher's guidance. Alison Garrett's enthusiasm for her vocation and the accomplishments of her students is not only infectious but also a powerful reminder of the potential one individual has to ignite a spark in many.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The George Real Estate Group radio broadcast is celebrating 10 years on WHKP. The George Real Estate Group is celebrating 10 years on the radio live every Thursday morning at 10.05 on WHKP 107.7 FM and AM 1450 and streaming online at WHkpcom Each Friday morning at 845,. The George Real Estate Group presents the Hometown Hero Award to someone in our community who goes above and beyond to make our hometown a better place to live. Here's this week's Hometown Hero Show. Hometown Hero Show it's 845 and time now for our George Real Estate Group Hometown Hero Series.

Speaker 1: 0:52

On Friday morning the 29th of March, and Noah is away on some business and wanted me to remind you guys about the George Real Estate Group who sponsor the Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning, reminding you that they're located at 2720 Greenville Highway, serving all of western North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina with expertise in real estate. They have the experience of selling over 1,300 homes and you can check out all of their extensive experience and expertise at their website, realestatebygregcom. Feel free to stop by their office or call them locally at 3930134 with any any real estate question. And don't forget to subscribe to the George Real Estate Group's podcast. They're located on all of your favorite podcast platforms and you can stay up to date on market trends, local insights, listing and latest opportunities in the real estate world through those podcasts. And we are grateful to george real estate group for bringing us the hometown hero series every week. And I would like you to meet allison garrett, who is our george real estate group hometown hero this week. Good morning, allison, good morning, how are you?

Speaker 2: 2:19

I'm very good. How are you?

Speaker 1: 2:20

I'm doing good too. It's good to have you here with us this morning, and first off, congratulations. Accolades and attaboys came your way recently. I hope I get this title correct the 2024 Career and Technical Education.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Teacher of the Year. That is correct. Wow, thank you. Well, that's quite a title. It is, I feel, very blessed and I'm a little bit surprised by it.

Speaker 1: 2:50

Well, pleasantly surprised. Yes. Well, tell us about what that is, what that involves and how it relates to your profession, what you do. Tell us what you do and how it all ties together.

Speaker 2: 3:12

Well, the career in technical education is we call it CTE and I personally teach marketing classes at Wes Henderson High School. This is my 25th year teaching and my 22nd year as a DECA advisor, which I know you're familiar with. So the award I was completely unaware of and, from what I understand, there's a nomination process and then people vote on the winner, and I was surprised by it last week when my principal and lots of other people came walking through my door. So it was quite the privilege.

Speaker 1: 3:41

yes, Well, now is this kind of like a competition. So you are the teacher for Henderson County. Do you go to another level with this?

Speaker 2: 3:50

Yes, so each district has a CTE Teacher of the Year.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Okay, okay.

Speaker 2: 3:54

And we have to complete a portfolio and from that portfolio I think it's NCAT will choose the finalist and then they will invite them to a I'm not sure what it is, but something at NCAT and then at the end of that they will interview the finalist and choose the state CTE teacher of the year.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Okay, okay. So yeah, there's more of this coming. Well, you know, to be quite honest with you, this kind of reminds me of the deca class, of getting ready for competition yes putting together a portfolio, yes, getting ready to do public speaking, etc. Etc. Etc. That's what you teach it is.

Speaker 2: 4:38

Yes, well, I, like I said, I teach this semester, I'm teaching sales marketing, and I taught hospitality and tourism last semester as well. And, yes, all of those things flow into DECA. So what we do in DECA is what they learn in the classroom. Those are the things they get to go and compete in.

Speaker 1: 4:56

That is such a valuable program and a valuable course and it has helped and a valuable course and it has helped. I know you 25 years of involvement with DECA. You are bound to know a lot of movers and shakers in this world now.

Speaker 2: 5:18

Yes, and our hope is that the students also get to know a lot of people and get to network when they're out competing and at these different conferences, and that that carries them farther in their careers when they graduate.

Speaker 1: 5:27

I know so, and so I competed against him in public speaking in deca in high school yes that's uh.

Speaker 1: 5:34

It is an amazing program, and I went through deca personally, uh, many, many years ago, and and I just have to tell you that it transformed my thinking it really did open up my mind to bigger things than that farm that I was trying to get away from. It opened the door for me to become a broadcaster, and I've been in this business from high school and right during that time that I was introduced to radio, I was going through the DECA class, so I was just applying all of the things that I'd learned in the classroom to a broadcast career and it served me well for over 50 years, including ownership and management of radio stations, and I'm still 50-, 50 plus years later, still enjoying it, still coming to work every day, still wanted and uh, and still contributing still uh, and I give a lot of that credit to the deca course well, I could not have asked for a better plug for for deca.

Speaker 2: 6:48

Thank you very much I'll shut up now.

Speaker 1: 6:50

Let you talk about you. Yeah, how did you get? Tell us about your experiences. Did you take the deca class in high school?

Speaker 2: 7:01

I did not actually no I had no I.

Speaker 2: 7:04

I remember it being a club and um had no idea what I wanted to do in high school and had no intention of becoming a high school teacher. So that obviously you know. My pathway changed and here we sit today but this was, I think, my first year as a marketing teacher. I started and taught business for four years and then, when I transitioned into marketing, deca came my way and people at summer conference had said marketing DECA came my way and people at summer conference had said you need to start this organization and started my fifth year into teaching and never looked back and it's one of my favorite things about teaching marketing classes is connecting that organization with the classes and the opportunities that our students get throughout the year At West Henderson High School.

Speaker 2: 7:52

We compete at the district state and I like to win and my students like to win, so we always get to go to international competition.

Speaker 1: 8:00

Fantastic yes.

Speaker 2: 8:01

So I've got five students that were traveling to Anaheim, california, at the end of April.

Speaker 1: 8:05

Really yes. What are their presentations? What are they competing in?

Speaker 2: 8:10

They are competing in marketing information management, hotel and lodging, hospitality and tourism and automotive series marketing.

Speaker 1: 8:22

Okay, okay, so there's five students from West Henderson High competing nationally.

Speaker 2: 8:29

Yes, yes.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Great, great, great news. I just wish them the best. Thank you, did you say you started the uh program at west henderson? No, you started involved your involvement with it. Yes, it was.

Speaker 2: 8:43

It was handed over to me when I started two years ago and, um, I picked it up. I started it at wataga high school okay oh gosh, the early 2000s. Was there for 16 years. Moved to McDowell High School was there for seven years ran the program there and then took over at Wes Henderson two years ago.

Speaker 1: 9:04

Okay, well, tell us about your children and your family. There's others involved here.

Speaker 2: 9:11

Yes, they are a good support group. So, yes, I'm married and we have three children. My oldest daughter is 18. She'll be graduating this year from Wes Henderson. She's our DECA president, really, yes. And my middle child, my younger daughter, is a sophomore at Wes Henderson. She actually just won Blue Ridge Region VP for NCA Amazing.

Speaker 3: 9:35

So we're a DECA family, of course.

Speaker 2: 9:37

And I have a son that is at Mills River. He's in fifth grade, so he's not yet gotten to that yet. Yes, they grew up around it, so yes, he's undergoing the indoctrination period right now.

Speaker 1: 9:52

Okay, Well, gosh, you know. What do you find fulfilling about your job and about teaching?

Speaker 2: 10:05

I love the students.

Speaker 2: 10:07

That is why we teach is for those student connections and the relationships and, like you said, to watch these students anything like as a teacher, for a student to grasp something that you're teaching and to really get it and love it and to want to go further with it that's our dream. I'm very lucky that we have something like DECA that's connected to marketing education. You know, that allows these kids opportunities in entrepreneurship, finance, hospitality, marketing, sales all of that to take it a step further, to take it into real life situations and to meet people from all around the world. In April there's going to be over 23,000 people from every state in the US and also other countries, so you have students from Germany, spain. Before COVID they came from China and Japan, so they do get the opportunity to really network with people from all over the world and to take these skills they're learning in our classrooms and to go out and role play and do project presentations and things like that at the state and international level, which is, I think, pretty awesome for these students.

Speaker 1: 11:23

It's amazing to sit here and hear you talk about how it's changed since the dark ages, when I took the class. It opened up my world right there, locally, and now it's grown to international proportions yes, that, uh, that's really. That speaks everything. That says volumes about the power of the program. It wouldn't still be going on and it wouldn't still be celebrated worldwide if it wasn't changing lives and impacting people yes, and I.

Speaker 2: 12:01

I think that's the neat thing about what I get to teach is one. I think marketing is so much fun. Me too, yes, everyday things that these students are learning and that they're going to use, I think, in any job that they go into or any career path. But to see them be passionate about what they're learning in class because they can then apply it outside of classes is probably my favorite thing about that job because you visually see the light bulb go off, don't you you?

Speaker 1: 12:33

see it in their eyes and in marketing and and sales and and hospitality and whatever you, you've got to always be thinking, always be thinking outside the box, always duck and always dodge and trying to figure out a way to get to the prize, absolutely To get to the prize, yes, and you've got to be thinking. And when you see someone putting forth the effort to find a creative way to get to the prize, then you've made an impact, you've touched somebody.

Speaker 2: 13:06

Well, thank you. I think our students are amazing and I think that students in general when you give them the opportunity to succeed and you just give them the tools, they jump at it. And they want that. They're waiting for that. So it's been really neat to come here and to grow this program and to watch these students just jump on board and get excited about this and want to do all the things in order to succeed and put the work in for it.

Speaker 1: 13:34

Well, it makes me excited just to talk about it.

Speaker 2: 13:37

Allison and.

Speaker 1: 13:37

I'm not in the classroom with it every day like you are, and obviously you're successful at it, with students competing in international and national competitions and winning the award of the Henderson County Schools Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, thank you. Education teacher of the year congratulations, thank you. I know you have to be honored that your counterparts are the ones who said she's worthy of this I am.

Speaker 2: 14:08

I am honored. I'm like I said, I'm surprised. I work with, I think, some of the best cte teachers and teachers in general in our nation and, uh, it was quite the surprise. I had no idea that it was even happening, that there was, that I was even nominated um until they walked in last week.

Speaker 1: 14:26

So it is I'm very honored to to receive that reward you should be, you should be, and we are uh uh glad to honor you with a hometown hero certificate here from the george real estate group andKP. And there's also some certificates for food at various restaurants. The all-time favorite is always hands down Hot Dog World.

Speaker 2: 14:51

Absolutely, thank you.

Speaker 1: 14:54

Well, thank you so much for coming in to be with us today. We've got about 30 seconds left. Will you promise to keep us updated on how the students are doing in their competition?

Speaker 2: 15:06

I would be honored to. Yes, I would love to do that.

Speaker 1: 15:08

And if anyone has further questions, comments, cares or concerns about DECA or anything you do, is there a contact through the school? Maybe we could get in touch with you.

Speaker 2: 15:19

Absolutely, they can go to West Henderson High School's webpage and my email is on there under the staff directory.

Speaker 1: 15:26

I bet they can read about DECA there too. Find links to it.

Speaker 2: 15:30

Hopefully yes, or they can go to ncdecaorg or decaorg for the National DECA.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Happy Easter, have a great weekend. Thank you too. Thank you Bye.

Speaker 3: 15:39

Hey guys, it's Lucy Miller George, your favorite nine-year-old and I'm here to talk about the George Real Estate Group. Are you ready to sell your home and move on to bigger and better things? Well, let me tell you my family knows a thing or two about selling houses. We have the experience of helping over 1,300 families and, let's be real, selling your home is a big deal, but with our expert guidance and our terrible dad jokes and Lucy jokes we will make the process as easy and painless as possible. Want to hear a joke? Why did the real estate agent cross the road To get to the other listing? Okay, maybe our jokes aren't the best, but our selling skills are definitely are. Give us a call today 828-393-0134. Have a nice day.

Speaker 1: 16:39

The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, north Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygregcom. The George Real Estate Group can be reached at 828-393-0134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, flat Rock, north Carolina. Tune in live each week on Thursdays at 10.05 am on WHKP 107.7 FM and 14.50 am, or stream online at WHKPcom or download these podcasts wherever you get your podcasts podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. The George Real Estate Group brings you the WHKP Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning at 845.