Eighty-seven year old Rowe May was delighted to be in the audience for the 7 th Annual Teacher Appreciation Night of the Denver Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 11, 2008.

May was part of an evening in which graduating seniors of the Denver Stake honored 24 teachers. Ten scholarships of $750 were awarded to seniors nominated by the honored teachers. This year the anonymous donor asked that the scholarships be awarded to honor May's life and work at the Cherry Creek School District Administrative offices. "What an uplifting evening," said May.

Addressing the crowd of 200 people, Dr. Monte Moses, Superintendent of the Cherry Creek School system noted the night's theme, "A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others." Moses congratulated the teachers on being chosen, and commended the students for taking the time to see how others had touched their lives.

Comments from the students honoring their teachers, who ranged from teachers of traditional school subjects--philosophy, math, English--to figure skating and cross country coaches, included: "He taught us to think for ourselves." "He really connects with the students." "She made me want to do better for myself." "She taught me to think on a level that I couldn't have imagined when I entered her class."

The teachers in turn voiced their appreciation for the evening's expression of gratitude. "He had a smile on his face each day, and sometimes as a teacher, that's all you need to keep going." "A rare pleasure that we teachers get is to see them grow into life." "I feel blessed to be immersed in a world filled with curiosity, creative problem solving, and the artistic process."

Scholarship Winners Jena Bergin leads a service club called Project Linus at Cherry Creek High School. Robbie Craddock overcame difficult times with his attitude that adversity will always yield opportunities. William Hausen has learned to manage a disability as he journeys toward his future. Duc Chu, having immigrated from Southeast Asia a year ago, is focused on his goal of becoming a mathematician, as he acclimates to a foreign culture and language.

Matt Nordlander overcame injuries to progress as a cross country runner. Ivy Reyes is a hard-working and active participant in the student community. Woody Roseland's bone cancer is in remission and he says that cancer will not be an excuse, but "rather part of the reason I am who I am and why I do what I do." Emily Schmidt is team-oriented, with a genuine and authentic commitment to service.

Alex Steinkamp has shown interest in teaching. Bowen Yang showed mature growth by learning to repair burned bridges with several adult figures in his life.

Teachers who were honored included:

Cherry Creek High School:

* Chaparral High School

**Not affiliated with Cherry Creek High School

Smoky Hill High School:

Eaglecrest High School. Chemistry teacher, Marilyn Kemp, was honored by Sarah Rodrigez, a student at Overland High School.

Thomas Jefferson High School. Dan Mestas honored TJ cross country coach, Alan Lind.

Denver Academy. Mari Anderson honored teacher Alan Price.

Branson School On-line. Teacher Patty Martin was honored by Morgan Van Dorn.

High Plains Elementary School. Robert Neulist, retired, was honored by Ali Goates.