Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

My sincere thanks go out to all my colleagues in the Michigan Council of Teachers of English, the Red Cedar Writing Project and all the other professional organizations that I have been a part of in the past decade. Last Friday, I was genuinely surprised to be awarded the Charles Carpenter Fries Award, reported here by Andrea Zellner in the RCWP e-Newsletter:

From the October/November 2008 RCWP e-Newsletter

My favorite moment, though, was the look on our own Troy Hicks’s face as his name was called to receive the Fries Award, presented by Rita Maddox:

The Fries Award, first given in 1967, was named in honor of Charles Carpenter Fries, a University of Michigan Professor and an early president of MCTE. Recipients of this award have served their local communities, have provided significant service on state and/or national levels, and in general have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of education. Troy more than fits the bill. Congratulations, Troy! We are all so proud of you!

Of the many times in my life that words have escaped me, I wish that they would not have at the moment Rita honored me with the award.  Along with Janet’s kind letter about my work, this award means a great deal to me since it came from my peers. I thank all of you – my colleagues and friends from MCTE, MCEE, RCWP, and NWPM – for nominating me, and should have taken a moment to express my appreciation while standing there at the podium.

Moreover, as you all know, the one person that I wish could have been there to share it with me, my wife, Heather, deserved to be mentioned, too, as she supported me through my many years in the classroom and graduate school. She made much of what I was able to accomplish possible through her love and encouragement, and I feel that this award honors her memory, too.

Although the moment has passed to make these words public in front of the gathered membership of MCTE, I hope that my appreciation comes through as much by posting my sentiments here on my blog as it should have in person.

Thank you.


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8 thoughts on “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You”

  1. Congrats Troy!
    You deserve all of the kudos for your insightful thinking and sharing and collaboration.
    I’m sure Heather would be proud of you, friend.
    Yours in writing (what else?),
    Kevin

  2. Troy,

    Congratulations! Heather would not be as surprised as you about this honor being bestowed on you, but she would be extremely proud of you – as you know!

  3. Troy,
    Conbratulations.
    I treasure my very limited association with you from the NWP meetings and the writing retreat at Nebraska City, NE. Your encouragement has given me courage to continue to promote writing amount teachers even thought I myself retired.
    Thank you
    Mary

  4. I admire you deeply, Troy.
    Thank you for modeling for the rest of us what true leadership looks like.

  5. Troy, you might have been surprised by the award, but I’m not. You are my idol — OK, you’re ONE of my idols, but at this moment you are the top of the list. Kudos, dear friend.
    Sandy

  6. COngratulations Troy! You so deserve the award. You rock! Well-deserved, my friend, well-deserved. Tricia

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