But arriving on the baseball field behind the school, and despite the presence of representatives of Ogden’s fire and law enforcement communities, he found he was the only teacher wearing his issued emergency kit. Prepared for an emergency, there was one thing he wasn’t expecting that everyone else from students to faculty already knew.

Bennington was being honored as Ogden School District’s Teacher of the Year surrounded by students, faculty and area first responders. And hiding behind a fire truck was his prize — a 2026 Mazda CX-5 from Young Mazda complete with a one-year, all-expenses-paid lease.

He told the Standard-Examiner that he’s been in education for two decades, the first 12 being in elementary education and the last eight as a seventh-grade math teacher at Mount Ogden.

“I love it,” he said. “Kids are a little unique and they have their own challenges. I love it, the kids are a blast.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

He said that he’s spent all 20 of his years in education in the Ogden School District.

“It presents its own challenges but it’s so rewarding to see the kids having a blast and enjoying math instead of, ‘Math is horrible, it’s hard,'” he said. “It’s nice to see that change in their face.”

Ryan Albert, general manager of Young Mazda, told the Standard-Examiner that these Teacher of the Year presentations are quickly becoming a favorite of staff within the Young Automotive Group.

“This is our fourth year of doing a giveaway for Teacher of the Year in the Ogden area,” he said. “For us, it’s about supporting our community and we believe in the grassroots events that bring the community together — and what better way to celebrate it than to give a teacher who gives so much to our community a small gift in return for all our appreciation of what they do? That’s where this stemmed from — how can we give back to our community?”

He said that this year was a little bit different from previous Teacher of the Year presentations.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

“This was the first year the Teacher of the Year actually didn’t know that they were Teacher of the Year before we gave them the car,” he said. “As he’s coming out during the safety drill, he’s actually thinking it’s a safety drill with his vest and everything else on. To be able to see him come up and be totally blown away and unexpectedly be Teacher of the Year with a car just makes it so fun.”

Bennington said the honor came as a huge surprise.

“It’s a lot and I don’t know what to say,” he said. “You know something’s going on when you come out and you’re the only one with your emergency backpack, so it was a little weird in that sense. I’m super excited and super grateful.”

He said he’s looking forward to driving the vehicle around over the coming year.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s got a screen that’s bigger than my screen on my laptop. It’ll be great.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner