The Santa Rosa County Retired Educators met February 10 in its usual meeting place in the Russell Building on the campus of Locklin Technical Center. The program for the day was given by Doreen Ingram, an author of children's books. Her books are written to teach and share a message about endangered wildlife. Each animal that she writes about is real and lives in the sanctuaries around the nation and world where she has visited.
Doreen has served as a foster parent for the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida for more than six years. The endangered life she is specifically interested in are the great apes and big cats. She visits schools and organizations to give presentations to educate about these animals and other endangered wildlife. This program was very good and enlightening and highly recommended for anyone interested in pursuing this study.
SRCREA's motto is "To Serve and Not to Be Served." One way in which the organization serves each year is to sponsor the Grandparents Essay Contest as part of a promotion of literacy. This contest is incorporated into he fifth grade classes of Santa Rosa County. The teachers from each school pick one essay to submit to the SRCREA for competition. This year the First Place was Tyler Burkett, Pea Ridge Elementary. The title of his essay was "A Day with Grandpa." Sophie Jeffries, Gulf Breeze Elementary won Second Place with her essay entitled "At the Red with Nana." Third Place went to Faith Bush, Chumuckla Elementary with her "The Luckiest Girl in the World." Awards were presented to them by Jo Ann Timlin, Volunteer Chair, SRCREA, at the School Board Meeting in January. They received $100, $50, and $25. Their essays were submitted to the District FREA for district competition. The winner at the district level will be entered for state competition.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa County Retired Educators