Blue Ridge PBS - Education Services

Blue Ridge PBS Announces the Samuel P. McNeil "Teacher of the Year" Award Winner for 2001

Radford Media Specialist Diana Pack Receives Honor

August 16, 2001 – Blue Ridge PBS and Radford City Schools are proud to announce the selection of the Samuel P. McNeil "Teacher of the Year" Award for 2001. Diana Pack, Media Specialist at Radford High School and Dalton Intermediate School in Radford City, has been chosen for the Award, which recognizes innovative use of instructional video in the classroom. The Samuel P. McNeil "Teacher of the Year" Award includes a $1000 prize and an additional $500 for the award-winner's school. Pack will be honored Monday, August 20 at 12 noon at Radford High School. Media representatives are invited to attend.

Diana Pack exemplifies the true meaning of a resource teacher. After earning a M.S. in Educational Media from Radford University, she began her career on the RU faculty, but realized that her true desire was to work with students. As an officer in the Virginia Educational Media Association, Diana has worked hard to stay on top of the many challenges faced by today's media specialist in the areas of technology and curriculum and has embraced her expanding role within her school. A dedicated promoter of instructional television programs, in the last several years she has expanded her role by voluntarily creating a school news cast and has lobbied hard for increased spending on video production equipment.

This fall, Diana will begin teaching a new course entitled "Film and Video Production." With assistance from the staff at Blue Ridge PBS, she is assembling a small studio and plans to teach class members how to use computer technology to create and edit video productions.

"In this region, many schools are small, funds are limited, and teachers have to struggle to bring the world to our children," said Linda Pharis, Vice President of Educational Services at Blue Ridge PBS. "Thank goodness we have teachers like Diana Pack who meet this challenge with innovation and enthusiasm. And a special thank you to Sam McNeil for helping us recognize them."

The Samuel P. McNeil "Teacher of the Year" Award was established by Sam McNeil, one of the founding fathers of Blue Ridge PBS. McNeil, who this summer celebrated his 90th birthday, was a tireless advocate for education, and was instrumental in establishing Blue Ridge PBS in 1967 to provide educational television to the classrooms in Southwest Virginia and our neighboring states. Today, Blue Ridge PBS reaches 39 school divisions and more than 190-thousand students each year. Through the years, McNeil's interest in enhancing teaching and learning through new technology has continued, and through the Samuel P. McNeil "Teacher of the Year Award," he has contributed to furthering education in our communities.