Madison Communications Honors Five Teachers in Annual Teacher of the Year Contest

STAUNTON – Rural broadband is more than making an Internet connection, it’s about connecting people and giving back to our local communities. This year marks the 20th year that Madison Communications has sponsored the Teacher of the Year Awards contest! Madison has proudly contributed over $35,000 to local area schools through this program.

The Teacher of the Year program annually presents an award to three teachers, however this year they celebrated by awarding the top five teachers to celebrate their 20th contest year!

The contest takes place from March 1 – May 1 and is divided into the nomination and voting phase. During the month of March, Madison received a total of 212 nominations and during the month of April, the teachers received OVER 20,000 votes! The five teachers who received the highest number of votes were announced May 1 on social media platforms as well as on their website!

The 2025 Teacher of the Year winners are Breanna Seely from Mt. Olive Elementary School, Hannah Akers from Bethalto East Primary School, Lane Harmon from Carlinville High School, Monica Barrows from Bethalto East Primary School, and Tina Fries from IL Valley South Macoupin Headstart.

One nomination for Ms. Seely stated, “Ms. Seely has been the best addition to the Mt Olive school district. My son had her in her first year of teaching and she made everything so fun. She brings so many great ideas and fun activities to the classroom. Two years later my son still talks about her.”

Ms. Akers was complimented by a parent who said, “Ms. Akers has made kindergarten incredibly fun for my little one. She has learned so much and is always so excited to go to school. Ms. Akers is a teacher that my daughter will remember for the rest of her life.”

Mr. Harmon was complimented by a staff member that said, “He has done so much for Carlinville High School and the band program. We are so incredibly lucky to have Harmon here at CHS. He is such a lively teacher and always makes sure we do our work. He relates to us as students and is always making us laugh. I want to nominate him because he has done so much for CHS and CMS band programs. He deserves to have a great recognition as an amazing teacher to all of us.”

Mrs. Barrows received a very thoughtful nomination from a parent that read, “My child is so anxious to learn, but because Mrs. Barrows natural ability to connect with her students, my child is excelling like never before. She deserves this award”.

Lastly, Mrs. Fries was received a positive nomination that read, “She deserves this award because she would do anything for the kids. She enjoys spending her time teaching the kids. She is an outgoing person and has a kind heart. She really does deserve this award”.

Each winner received $500 to go toward future student advancement projects, a personalized glass book Teacher of the Year trophy, and a classroom pizza party hosted by the Madison Marketing Team.

Madison wishes to congratulate all of the 212 teachers who were nominated by local area students, parents, and administrators for the impact they have on the students each day. To view a complete list of the 2025 nominated teachers, please visit https://gomadison.com/teacher-of-the-year/.

Madison Communications is a fully integrated service provider of high-speed Internet access, digital phone, HD entertainment programing, and other IP solutions to residential and business customers in Southwestern Illinois. For questions regarding this pledge, or Madison’s services, please dial 1-800-422-4848 Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit gomadison.com.

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