[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF MRS. WENDY HARDING

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LYNN A. WESTMORELAND

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2007

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor 
Mrs. Wendy Harding, the 2007 Muscogee County School District Teacher of 
the Year.
  Almost every student that passes through a school, from the teacher's 
pet to the class clown, has a fond memory of a special teacher who 
positively influenced their lives. For many students at Columbus' 
Hardaway High School, that teacher has been a Spanish teacher named 
Wendy Harding.
  Harding knows how to stick with a good thing once she's found it. She 
stayed happily married and raised two high-achieving children with her 
high school sweetheart Phil, who was also an educator, until his death 
from cancer 7 years ago. And Harding has spent every single day of her 
31-year professional career at Hardaway High, making her the longest-
serving teacher there.
  Principal Matt Bell told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that Harding is 
an integral part of the school's success: ``She's a leader in the 
school. She teaches everyone. She heads our mentor program. She cares 
about every student who comes through her doorway as well as students 
who don't. If a student doesn't learn in her class, she takes it 
personally. They all learn at a high level. They see her enthusiasm for 
her subject and her zest for life and it's just contagious.''
  Harding says she's wanted to become a teacher since she was 7 years 
old. Now, she mentors the next generation of teachers, encouraging her 
own students to pick up the torch that enlightens young minds. Those 
influenced by her example include her daughter, who last year was named 
First Year Teacher of the Year in a Texas school district. The skills 
needed to excel at the head of the classroom obviously run deep in the 
family blood.
  I would like to personally thank Mrs. Harding for her many years of 
outstanding service to the young people of Muscogee County. Teachers 
such as her, across Georgia and the United States, make a positive 
difference every day.
  On behalf of Georgia's 3rd Congressional District, I congratulate the 
Muscogee County Teacher of the Year and wish her many years of 
continued success.

                          ____________________