BENTONVILLE, Ark. --- Saluting excellence in education, Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB associates have awarded an unprecedented $1.7 million this year in educational grants through the company’s Good.Works. community involvement program. The grants have been awarded to 3,260 schools in all 50 states through the company’s Teacher of the Year program.

In its fifth year of honoring outstanding teachers in local communities, Teacher of the Year is one of the largest teacher recognition programs in the country, according to Betsy Reithemeyer, Wal-Mart Foundation director. "Education is a cornerstone commitment of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s Good.Works. community involvement program," said Reithemeyer. "Since its inception in 1996, the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year program has recognized nearly 11,000 teachers nationwide and contributed more than $6.6 million in educational grants to schools."

Added Reithemeyer, "This program exemplifies our associates’ commitment to education and the value that excellent teachers deliver to our communities by positively impacting the lives of young people."

This year, not only did each store select a local winner, but Wal-Mart Stores and SAM’S CLUBS also honored 50 state winners and -- for the first time -- honored one national winner as well. Local winners could apply for the state and national awards, and more than 700 applications were received from local winners around the country.

Mark Boen, a third-grade teacher in Fergus Falls, Minn., has been named the first national Teacher of the Year. A special recognition ceremony will honor Boen today at his school, McKinley Elementary. Members of the Fergus Falls community helped Boen win the top award for the annual program. Boen was nominated in Fergus Falls and selected by store associates as the local winner last spring. Then he was selected as the Minnesota state winner this summer by the Miss America organization, which served as the independent judging group. Finally, Boen was chosen this fall over other 700 other applicants for the national award, again by the Miss America Organization, which emphasized character education and community involvement in the selection process.

"We’re delighted Mark has been chosen as the national winner and has brought such positive recognition to Fergus Falls and the state of Minnesota," said Gary Snyder, Fergus Falls store manager.

Boen is indeed an outstanding teacher. He is an accomplished and published author of three books focusing on teaching and education and believes the role of teachers is to celebrate effective students and prepare them not just for school, but also for life.

"Mark and the teaching staff at McKinley Elementary are committed to making a difference in the lives of our students," said Principal Jon Harris. "It is a great honor for Mark - and McKinley Elementary - for him to be recognized as the 2001 national Teacher of the Year. We salute Wal-Mart associates for their commitment to education and to this community."

The Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB Good.Works. program is unique in that it combines both financial and volunteer support from store associates in assisting organizations in making a positive difference. By encouraging a grassroots style of community involvement, store associates identify and support organizations that are improving the quality of life in their communities. In fact, last year Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB associates in Minnesota raised and contributed more than $2.4 million for local community organizations throughout the state.

In Minnesota alone, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates 52 Wal-Mart stores, Supercenters and SAM’S CLUBS and employs more than 14,000 associates. With annual sales of $191 billion, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates more than 2,700 discount stores, Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets, and more than 490 SAM’S CLUBS in the United States. Internationally, the company operates more than 1,100 units. Last year Wal-Mart associates raised and contributed more than $190 million to support communities and local non-profit organizations. FORTUNE magazine has named Wal-Mart the third "most admired" company in America and one of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States, and Americans named Wal-Mart the company they think of first in supporting local causes and issues, according to Cone, Inc. More information about Wal-Mart can be located on-line at http://www.walmartstores.com and www.walmart.com. The SAM’S CLUB Web site can be accessed at www.samsclub.com.

2001 State Teacher of the Year Winners

State	Teacher of the Year State Winner	Total Local Winners in the State	Total Grant Dollars Awarded in the State
Alabama	Regina Parker Fort Dale Academy Greenville, AL	93	$49,000
Alaska	Margaret Reed East Elementary Kodiak, AK	9	$7,000
Arizona	Victoria Lively Solano Elementary Phoenix, AZ	51	$28,000
Arkansas	Rodney Fulton Northside Elementary Bentonville, AR	98	$51,500
California	Steve Curry West Street School Red Bluff, CA	148	$76,500
Colorado	Celia Dunham Strawberry Park Elementary Steamboat Springs, CO	54	$29,500
Connecticut	Dorothy Young Mary T. Murphy School Branford, CT	23	$14,000
Delaware	Debbie Magnin Early Childhood Center Dover, DE	6	$5,500
Florida	Mary Bishop Garden City Elementary Ft. Pierce, FL	181	$93,000
Georgia	April Tabb Mitchell County Elementary Camilla, GA	122	$63,500
Hawaii	Liane Martin Konawaena High School Kailua Kona, HI	6	$5,500
Idaho	Jan Robison Adams Elementary Rexburg, ID	15	$10,000
Illinois	Elizabeth Burton VIT Elementary Macob, IL	143	$74,000
Indiana	John Morrow Castle High School Boonville, IN	101	$53,000
Iowa	David Eaton Douma Elementary Ottumwa, IA	59	$32,000
Kansas	Norman Don Miller Fort Scott Middle School Fort Scott, KS	58	$31,500
Kentucky	Connie Jordan Winburn Middle School Lexington, KY	80	$42,500
Louisiana	Robert Adoue St. Francis Xavier New Orleans, LA	94	$49,500
Maine	Tammy Myers Saco Middle School Biddeford, ME	23	$14,000
Maryland	Betty Thornton Woodhome Elementary #205 White Marsh, MD	42	$23,500
Massachusetts	Rose Sarti Sunderland Elementary Hadley, MA	40	$22,500
Michigan	Shirley Cox Hurd Road Elementary Monroe, MI	81	$43,000
Minnesota	Mark Boen McKinley Elementary Fergus Falls, MN	52	$33,500
Mississippi	Shirley Burton Meridian High School Meridian, MS	69	$37,000
Missouri	Mike Collins Reeds Spring High School Branson West, MO	129	$67,000
Montana	Ramona Bilden Jefferson Elementary Miles City, MT	11	$8,000
Nebraska	Laurie Schmidt East Ward Middle School Chadron, NE	24	$14,500
Nevada	Christine MacKenzie Parson Elementary Las Vegas, NV	20	$12,500
New Hampshire	Karen Bennett Reeds Ferry School Amherst, NH	28	$16,500
New Jersey	Ronald Heitmann Lake Riviera Middle School Brick, NJ	29	$17,000
New Mexico	Rosella Holguin Silver High School Silver City, NM	28	$16,500
New York	Julianne Tate West Stand Lake Elementary Rensselaer, NY	85	$45,000
North Carolina	Carol Story Turrentine Middle School Burlington, NC	113	$59,000
North Dakota	Cheryl Knutsen Hagen Elementary Williston, ND	9	$7,000
Oklahoma	Jack McNeely Purcell High School Purcell, OK	96	$50,500
Oregon	Colleen Stewart McKay Creek Elementary Pendleton, OR	27	$16,000
Pennsylvania	Carol Hirsch McDowell Intermediate High School Erie, PA	104	$54,500
Rhode Island	Metro Narcisi III West Warwick High School Warwick, RI	9	$7,000
South Carolina	Melodie White Taylors Elementary School Greenville/Taylor, SC	74	$39,500
South Dakota	Sherrie Gray Lincoln Elementary Aberdeen, SD	11	$8,000
Tennessee	Tommy Allen East Middle School Tullahoma, TN	105	$55,000
Texas	Linda Culp Thorndale High School Rockdale, TX	337	$171,000
Utah	Susan Andrews Whitesides Elementary Layton, UT	25	$15,000
Vermont	Deidre Liguori S. Burlington Central School Williston, VT	4	$4,500
Virginia	Ben Talley Van Pelt Elementary Bristol, VA	78	$41,500
Washington	Leona De Laurier Grand Mound Elementary Chehalis, WA	30	$17,500
West Virginia	Mark Winnell Zion Christian Academy South Charleston, WV	32	$18,500
Wisconsin	Judy Foust Menomonie Middle School Menomonie, WI	75	$40,000
Wyoming	Pinky Johnson Laramie Jr. High Laramie, WY	12	$8,500
TOTAL		3,260 local winners	$1,762,500