OGDEN -- A 47-year love affair with education has resulted in a national honor for a former Ogden teacher and administrator.
Larry Leatham has been named the 2010 recipient of the ACTE Carl Perkins Humanitarian Award by the Association for Career and Technical Education.
"It's quite an honor. I was absolutely surprised," said Leatham via cell phone from New York City, where he was on a family trip.
Leatham will be recognized Nov. 20 during ACTE's national awards ceremony at its annual convention in Nashville, Tenn.
"I have never been to Nashville and I am very excited," he said. "We are excited to see the Grand Ole Opry. My wife loves western music."
The Perkins humanitarian award is presented to an individual who is making outstanding contributions of state or national significance to the progress of career and technical education.
In Leatham's career as both a teacher and administrator, he met many students who had lost interest and were struggling to stay in school. He found that channeling these students into CTE courses and providing them with lessons applicable to the world of work motivated them.
When Leathem became the school-to-careers coordinator in Weber School District, he took on many projects with great results. Leatham helped develop career pyramids guiding students regarding which classes to take for a particular career pathway.
"Youths are better prepared for the future than they used to be. There have been so many wonderful changes in education.
Kids are getting marvelous opportunities for internships where they have a chance to experience careers firsthand," Leatham said. "We were able to map out classes to better prepare them for life and help them develop skills."
Leatham also served on the committee that created a Career Majors Institute. Teachers, administrators, counselors and parents observed and evaluated the CTE programs in each junior high and high school in four districts and put together a time line to implement changes and/or improvements to the programs. Leatham continues to offer his services to state and local agencies to promote the importance of higher education with a great emphasis on CTE. He thanks those who wrote letters of recommendation nominating him for this award.
"They were very kind. It's a great honor and it has been a privilege to work in the field of education," said Leatham, who retired in June.
The award was established in 1985 to honor the late Rep. Carl Perkins, D-Kentucky. The individual honored may be any person who has rendered outstanding service to career and technical education. To find out more, visit www.acteonline.org.
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