Tonya Evanchyk, a Paraprofessional/Classroom Assistant at Elliott Point Elementary School, was named the 2020 Educational Support Professional of the Year at the Annual Awards Breakfast held on February 7th and the Niceville Community Center. Terrence Lowery, Paraprofessional at Bruner Middle School, and Sheri Cyrus, a Library Assistant at Walker Elementary School, were runner-ups. (Pictured above, left to right, are Terrence Lowery, Tonya Evanchyk, and Sheri Cyrus.)

Kathy Ard, Principal of Elliott Point Elementary School, said “Coach Evanchyk is a Physical Education (PE) assistant at our school, but her influence is much more widespread than the PE field. She is loving referred to as ‘Coach E’ by our students. Tonya joined Elliott Point a few years ago after many successful years as a gymnastics coach and daycare teacher. Her skills and experience have truly enhanced the physical education program that we provide to our students. Many of the special events at PE happen because of the extra time and commitment that she devotes to the program. She encourages students to put forth effort and be the best they can be. You can see Ms. Evanchyk rooting students on as they try new skills. She works with each individual to set goals and better themselves and helps students engage in conflict resolution when differences occur on the playground.”

When Ms. Evanchyk joined Elliott Point Elementary School, the school was in need of someone to take over their much-loved archery team. She had no experience being an archery coach, only observing her own son participate in the sport at our school but she jumped in and has done an amazing job growing the school’s archers. This team has been successful locally and nationally. Archery is not a funded extracurricular event and monies are needed for equipment and meets. Ms. Evanchyk has organized and promoted fund raisers at restaurants (Taco Town and Tijuana Flats}, sold t-shirts, found sponsors, and even set up an Amazon Wish List that was fulfilled by her students, friends, and family. Coach E has helped find resources for students unable to afford archery meets.

Tonya assists in the day to day PE lessons with teaching and executing activities. This usually consist of having one group of students. usually half the grade level, then swapping with the other coach's group halfway through the class period. On top of her daily duties she has volunteered to take on the safety patrol program for the 5th grade students. This requires her to ensure the students are attentive to their duties and developing a monthly schedule that rotates their duties around the school. “Some of the daily duties I perform are lunch duty during the kindergarten block, lending a helping hand to opening milks and teaching them little tricks to work on their fine motor skills and independence of opening things on their own,” said Evanchyk. “At dismissal, I head to the bus ramp ensuring students are finding their correct buses and that hallways are clear before a bus is released to leave. Lastly. I am coaching our archery team. This team consists of twenty-five 4th and 5th grade students who were selected to represent our school at local tournaments. I run practices 4 days a week in the morning prior to the school day beginning, load/haul equipment to and from tournaments, make sure I'm available on nights/weekends to attend events with my archers, and maintain equipment in proper working order. I have orchestrated several fundraising activities to help cover expenses from traveling, equipment, to even covering archer's cost of miscellaneous things if the parents need help. I do all of this on my own time with no extra compensation and have loved every minute of it.”

Evanchyk has taken some basic college classes over the past few years and is eager to go back to school to further her education and achieve a degree in education. One of her biggest goals would be to learn the Spanish language to help better communicate with some of her students who speak little to no English.

“Elliott Point is a better place because of Ms. Evanchyk,” said Ard. “She positively impacts every single student on our campus each and every day. We are very blessed to have her as a member of our school. Her professionalism is unmatched, and she enriches the lives of all of our students. Ms. Tonya Evanchyk is a wonderful part of the Okaloosa County School District.”

Congratulations to all of our School/Department Educational Support Professionals of the Year:

Antioch Elementary School - Michelle Geoghagan, Secretary

Baker School – Karen Nauman, Paraprofessional

Bay Area Office – Mary Rivas, Secretary

Bluewater Elementary School – Stephanie Patrick, Clerk

Bob Sikes Elementary School – Elizabeth Foley, Paraprofessional

Bruner Middle School – Terrence Lowery, Paraprofessional

Choctawhatchee High School – Cynthia Buckley, Custodian

Crestview High School - Juanita Payne-Galbreath, Paraprofessional

Davidson Middle School – Daniel Wortham, Custodian

Destin Elementary School - Terri Jones, Paraprofessional

Destin Middle School – Karen Singleton, Secretary

Edge Elementary School – Ann Gilbar, Secretary

Edwins Elementary School – Angie Clinkingbeard, Bookkeeper

Eglin Elementary School – Connie Wilson, Secretary

Florosa Elementary School – Valorie Marvin, Bookkeeper

Fort Walton Beach High School – Jason Patrick, Site Based Technician

Kenwood Elementary School – Gail King, Secretary

Laurel Hill School – Clint Paul, Site Based Technician

Lewis School – Catrina Mathews, Paraprofessional

Longwood Elementary School – Allison Borders, Library Assistant

Maintenance Fort Walton Beach South – Brent Bledsoe, Electrician I

Mary Esther Elementary School – Kim Ballard, Secretary

Meigs Middle School – Roxanna Slater, Interpreter ESL

Niceville Complex, HR – Lisa Marshall, Secretary

Niceville High School – Mitzi Phillips, Clerk

Northwood Elementary School – Lisa Bermudez, Interpreter ESL

Nutrition Center – Marshall Mosley, Custodian

Okaloosa STEMM Academy – Dawn Ball, CDA

Okaloosa Technical College – Angienita Perodein, Paraprofessional

Plew Elementary School – Kerensa Morton, Clerk

Pryor Middle School – Michael Mitchell, Custodian

Richbourg School – Pamela Corbin, Custodian

Riverside Elementary School – Beverly Brunson, Secretary

Ruckel Middle School – Robbie Sotelo, Secretary

Shalimar Elementary School – Crystal Hollingsworth, Paraprofessional

Shoal River Middle School – Deborah Nichols, Secretary

Silver Sands School – Sara Wright, Paraprofessional

Southside Primary School – Katina Thomas, CDA

Transportation Central – Randall Todd Brady, Mechanic I

Transportation North – Paul Castille, Mechanic I

Transportation South – Angie Mills, Bus Driver

Walker Elementary School – Sheri Cyrus, Library Assistant

Wright Elementary School – Coretta Johnson, Day Care Coordinator

Special thanks to the Educational Professional of the Year Selection Committee:

• Marian Gilmore, 1 on 1 Paraprofessional, Silver Sands School
• Linda Pigford, School Bus Driver, Retired
• Patrick Strong, President, OCSP
• Starla Young, Bookkeeper, Mary Esther Elementary School
• Linda Evanchyk, School Board Member, District 3
• Leigh Rose, Classroom Assistant, Richbourg School
• Linda Fountain, School Bus Driver, Retired

Special thanks and appreciation to the following for their contributions to this year's event:

• Boogies Watersports
• Chick-fil-A (FWB and Niceville Locations)
• Corner Cafe, Bridget Spolski
• Debbie Dodge, Mary Kay Consultant
• Edible Arrangements
• Hello, Sugar! Bakery
• Niceville Community Center
• Okaloosa County Teachers Federal Credit Union
• Okaloosa Education Staff Professionals
• Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation
• Olin Marler Charter Cruises
• School District Printing Services, Rich Perry and staff
• Southern Star Printing
• Titan Technologies
• Trophy Center

To see a complete photo gallery of this event, please visit the OCSD Facebook page.