Special to the Enquirer

The Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame (HEHOF) has announced its selections for the class of 2019. The Educator Hall of Fame was established to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the education of students who have attended Hartselle schools. The inductees are Emily Amberson, Jane Ann Fields, Don Pouncey, Donna Rushen and Libby Watson.

These educators will be inducted into the HEHOF during the fourth annual Hall of Fame Banquet at the Ministry Center at First United Methodist Church of Hartselle Feb. 2.  

Before becoming a teacher in Hartselle, Amberson taught students with special needs at Brookhaven Middle School in Decatur.  She was chosen as Decatur City School’s Secondary Teacher of the Year in 1992 and taught special needs students at Hartselle High School from 1995-2008.  Amberson was noted for her kindness and was always concerned about what was best for her students.

Fields was an educator for 24 years at Burleson Elementary where she taught fourth grade. She was voted Outstanding Young Educator of the Year by the Hartselle Jaycees in 1984.  Her students said she made learning fun and creative and that she had a great rapport with them and they remember her pleasant personality, great sense of humor and many of the creative learning activities she used.

Rushen taught English courses at Hartselle High School from 1978-2004.  She then taught at Calhoun Community College for a year and at Wallace State Community College for seven years.  Her students remember her as an amazing storyteller, a teacher who made learning fun and meaningful.

According to those who knew him, Pouncey was one of the most loved and respected educators to serve in our Hartselle School System. He came to Hartselle as an assistant football coach and taught driver’s education.  Pouncey was head basketball coach from 1985-1994 and his 1993-94 team finished with a 30-5 record and won the 5A State Championship. He then moved into administration and was an assistant principal at the junior high and high school and principal of F.E. Burleson and the junior high.

During her senior year at the University of Alabama, Watson was voted “Student Exhibiting the Most Promise in Education.” Most of her teaching career was spent teaching kindergarten at F. E. Burleson Elementary School. In 1982, she was selected as the Outstanding Young Educator of the Year by the Hartselle Jaycees and in 1998 she was the Hartselle American Legion Teacher of the Year.

Tickets for the event are available at a cost of $30 each and may be purchased at the Hartselle City Schools central office.