Cindy Belin This is Me

Education

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1. 1. The Star

   www.starfl.com/SiteProcessor.c - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/14/2006   Last Visited: 3/14/2006

   Jim Belin was in the doghouse at Port St. Joe Middle School as soon as principal Juanise Griffin saw Belin's guidance counselor wife, Cindy, walk through the door looking stunning in a brown pantsuit.
   ...
   His wife, Cindy, had been chosen as Gulf County's Teacher of the Year and was being surprised the next day during a school faculty meeting.
   ...
   "Cindy Belin knows."
   
   The rumors were quelled that afternoon when Superintendent Tim Wilder, school board members and district staff crashed the faculty meeting and found a shocked Cindy Belin, mouth agape.
   ...
   Belin hesitantly approached flower-bearer Sue Gannon, the district's Human Resources coordinator, and swung around to find her husband standing in a corner, wearing an amused grin.
   ...
   As Cindy Belin greeted her husband and mother-in-law, Mary, Wilder offered up his praise.
   ...
   When the shock wore off, Cindy Belin interrogated her husband.
   
   "You knew?" she asked. "The girls knew?"
   
   The couple's daughters, Bonnie, 22, and Becky, 19, were also in on the secret.
   
   Cindy Belin turned to a well-wisher.
   
   "He can't keep a secret," she said, incredulously.
   
   Belin earned the Teacher of the Year honor for her meritorious 27-year service in the Gulf County School system.
   
   She began her career at Port St. Joe Elementary School in 1979, and taught grades two, four and six for five years.
   
   She then became Port St. Joe High School's reading specialist before completing her master's degree in guidance and counseling at the University of Montevallo.
   
   Belin has been a guidance counselor since 1989 and has served in this capacity at all of Port St. Joe's public schools.
   
   In 1996, she earned her first Teacher of the Year trophy as Port St. Joe Elementary's guidance counselor.
   
   Belin joined the middle school faculty in 2004, replacing Juanise Griffin, who was promoted to principal.
   
   At Wednesday's ceremony, Griffin called Belin "very deserving" of the honor.
   
   Griffin praised Belin's work over the past week in coordinating the school's FCAT exam while attending to the usual student crises.
   
   "She has managed splendidly," Griffin said.
   
   Belin will now compete in the regional and state Teacher of the Year competitions, where she will submit essays detailing her educational history, professional development and teaching philosophy and a video demonstrating herself at work.
   
   On Wednesday, Belin struggled to put her feelings into words, and settled on an expression of gratitude.
   
   "I'm just very thrilled," she said.

2. 2. The Star

   www.starfl.com/SiteProcessor.c - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/28/2006   Last Visited: 1/6/2007

   At surprise ceremonies held Feb. 8, Cindy Belin and Sherron Miller were named Gulf County Teacher of the Year and School Related Employee of the Year, respectively.
   ...
   Belin served 27 years in the Gulf County school system, beginning her career as a Port St. Joe Elementary School teacher in 1979.
   
   She later served as a guidance counselor at all Port St. Joe public schools, most recently at Port St. Joe Middle School.

3. 3. GC Scholarship Fund Providing Opportunities for Graduates to Rise - Gulf County Florida news story from StarFL.com, The Star

   www.starfl.com/article.cfm?id= - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/30/2003   Last Visited: 5/30/2003

   "As an educator and a parent, it was a road map," said Cindy Belin, counselor at Port St. Joe Elementary School.
   ...
   Belin said she recognized it in her own kids, who gave greater thought and effort toward higher education through their participation in the program.
   
   "It has certainly (raised horizons)," Belin said.