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Governor Jim Doyle and State Superintendent Elizabeth
Burmaster present Sgt. Andrew Wallace's honorary Teacher
of the Year plaque to his widow, Angela Wallace.
Educators from across the state paid tribute to the life of Oshkosh teacher Sgt. Andrew Wallace during the opening General Session of the WEAC Convention in Milwaukee Thursday (October 27, 2005).
Wallace, 25, was stationed in Kuwait and escorting supply trucks to Iraq when he was killed in a roadside bombing along with two other soldiers last month.
"We lost one of our finest educators on September 26," said State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster. "Today, we reflect on his legacy as an exemplary teacher."
Burmaster, along with Governor Jim Doyle, WEAC President Stan Johnson and WEAC Executive Director Dan Burkhalter, presented Wallace's family with the 2005 honorary Teacher of the Year award.
Wallace, who was a WEAC member, had been teaching in the Oshkosh district since 2003. He was a physical education teacher at Emmeline Cook Elementary School, and a physical education teacher for special education students and assistant wrestling coach at Oshkosh North High School.
Doyle said he remembered meeting Wallace at Camp Shelby in Mississippi last spring before Wallace was deployed with his unit, the Appleton-based Wisconsin Army National Guard 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment.
"He was a young man full of enthusiasm – with a strong commitment to special education and physical education," Doyle said. "He was just about every great value in the world wrapped into one person."
Wallace was a native of Ripon, where he graduated from Ripon High School in 1998 and then from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"Since his death, we've been moved by stories of the commitment he had to teaching and the commitment he felt to his students," Burmaster said. "He would often motivate his students by doing agility and strength drills with them, and he inspired and taught them to live healthy lives."
Before presenting the special Teacher of the Year plaque to Wallace's widow, Angela Wallace, Doyle credited Wallace's family for fostering Andrew's dedication to service.
"I have gotten to know his family and can see his willingness to undertake this great risk for the sake of us all was nurtured by his family's values," Doyle said. "He was the best Wisconsin had to offer - our finest son."
Posted October 31, 2005