The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is proud to announce the winner of the second annual Tom & Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award.  The winner is Ms. Jill Ardoin, who is an 11th grade American history teacher at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.   She has bachelors and masters degrees in history from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and has taught for 14 years.

The SAR is a patriotic linage organization whose 28,000 members are descended from the heroes of the American Revolution.  The SAR promotes respect for the sacrifices and courage of our patriot ancestors through oration and essay contests, an elementary school poster contest, and awards for Boy Scouts, ROTC, and JROTC cadets.  The Tom & Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award identifies an American history teacher who has demonstrated a passion and exceptional ability for teaching the American Revolution.  The winner receives a trip to the Freedoms Foundation Graduate Teacher Workshop in Valley Forge, PA, where the teacher can select among three different weeklong seminars on the Revolutionary War.

Ms. Ardoin wrote in her application for the award, "The Revolutionary generation also taught Americans something about government.  Although highly influenced by the writings of John Locke, this generation formulated its own philosophy and laid down the foundations for the government under which we live today.  As an educator, I have an important duty to instill these concepts into the minds of all of my students for their future, but for our future also."

Judge Tom Lawrence of Houston, TX, son of the award namesakes, stated "I'm very pleased with the winner this year.  Her application reflects recognition of the principles of our founding fathers and mothers that we hope teachers will pass along to the next generation.  She is a respected and talented teacher who will, over the course of her career, imbue hundreds of students with her fervor and passion for the founders and what they endured to create our nation."

This is the second year the SAR has provided this prestigious award.   The winner, who was sponsored by the Attakapas Chapter in Lafayette, Louisiana, was selected out of a strong field of other finalists from Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas.  Bruce Wilcox, President General of the SAR remarked "This is an example of the new focus of our organization, which is to provide outreach education and bring the ideals of the American Revolution to our school children.  I am also proud to see one of our Louisiana chapters sponsor the winner because they have struggled to overcome the effects of Katrina just as our forefathers struggled to overcome adversity during the revolution."

For more information about the SAR and its Outreach Education programs email the Director of Education Colleen Wilson or call 502-589-1776 ext. 30