Tatum Northington Elmore/Autauga News
The Autauga Education Foundation (AEF) partnered with the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce to host their annual “Tailgating for Education” Benefit dinner tonight, Monday, August 22. The event allows for community members to unite with educators across Autauga County to celebrate the beginning of the school year as well as raise funds for the Foundation to give back to the schools.
AEF President Quincy Minor explained that the Foundation is a “Non Profit organization that promotes involvement and promotes sustainable resources to enhance student achievement in Autauga County Schools.” This annual benefit along with AEF’s A+ Banquet fully funds the teacher grants given each year, and since its inception AEF has given over $440,000 to teachers and classrooms across Autauga County.
Allison Powell, Marketing and Communications Director for the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce, told us “The Chamber is proud to partner with the Autauga Education Foundation at this annual event that brings all schools in the system together to celebrate the new school year as well as allows us to celebrate all the things AEF does for local educators.” The Chamber works hand in hand with AEF to allow for a seamless event to occur and pulls resources together to make sure every dime raised goes back into the classrooms to help Autauga County students reach their full potential.
The evening started with guests arriving to the sounds of the Pride of Prattville and Marbury Northstars Marching Bands. Both bands performed rally songs and then came together to play the National Anthem. Another aspect of the evening was to recognize the Teachers of the Year and applaud them for all their hard work this past school year. The recipients for 2022 were Shannon Murphree, Secondary Teacher of the Year and Stacey Brown, Elementary Teacher of the Year. Murphree is a History and Advanced Placement History teacher at Prattville High School and Brown is a 6th Grade teacher at Marbury Middle School.
The special speakers for this event tonight were all the local high school football coaches as well as WSFA’s Sports Director, Rosie Langello. Each coach discussed their vision for the season and asked for community support to make sure all games were full of fans. The evening culminated with Langello and all in attendance seemed entranced by her love of sports and this area.
If you would like to get involved with the Autauga Education Foundation, be sure to follow them on social media or by visiting their website here.
