Superintendent Tricia Mooney said Berger has been a fierce advocate for students.
âYou have almost singlehandedly grown all of our CTE programs with your passion for our kids and for opportunities for kids,â she said in a video where she surprised Berger in his classroom with a basket of candy, saying she was thrilled that Bergerâs colleagues had chosen him for the honor.
The video played during the Hermiston Chamber of Commerceâs Distinguished Citizens Awards on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Berger was chosen from a pool of each schoolâs educators of the year. Mooney said he always has a smile on his face, works hard to find opportunities to get each student more involved in the school and comes ready with good ideas.
HERMISTON â As Cindy Middleton accepted Hermistonâs Woman of the Year award on Wednesday, Feb. 24, she thought back to the day in 1992 that her father called her while she was away at college to tell her that her own mother, Judy Bracher, was Woman of the Year.
âI was deeply touched by the way that Dad described what Mom was being recognized for,â she remembered.
Middleton was one of several people recognized during the Hermiston Chamber of Commerceâs annual Distinguished Citizens Awards banquet, along with Ken Huber as Man of the Year. The event, which usually hosts several hundred people in the Hermiston Community Center, was limited to award winners and their families this year and was held in a greenhouse at Bennett Botanical Gardens.