A Mary Esther Elementary School teacher with more than three decades in the classroom was surprised Thursday morning with a new home air conditioning system, presented during a faculty meeting in front of her colleagues.
- Second-grade teacher Michelle Harris was recognized by We Care A/C, Plumbing and Electric, a member of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, alongside Okaloosa County Schools Superintendent Marcus Chambers and Principal Dawn Johnson. The surprise took place just before 8 a.m. on April 16.
Harris has taught for 31 years, all of them within the Okaloosa County School District. She has spent the past 28 years at Mary Esther Elementary, where her own children once attended, and has taught every elementary grade level. She returned to second grade a couple of years ago after teaching fourth grade for much of her career.
Chambers told faculty the recognition came after We Care approached the district wanting to do something meaningful for a teacher, prompting a selection process across the school system.
- “This is a teacher who goes above and beyond,” Chambers said. “This is a teacher who has impacted countless students for more than 30 years — but also impacting families, but impacting this school.”
Chambers also pointed to the role local businesses play in supporting educators in Okaloosa County.
“It’s a blessing in Okaloosa,” he said. “The overwhelming majority of businesses, people, support our teachers, support our schools and support the employees who do the good work here.”
Edgar Jimenez, brand president for We Care A/C, Plumbing and Electric, presented the new unit to Harris and spoke about the company’s reason for the gesture.
“Teachers don’t just educate. You provide guidance, you influence, you provide support, you provide comfort — that little bit of encouragement every day that no one may see,” Jimenez said. “The reality is you help raise our kids, and to a parent, that’s not a small thing. That is everything.”
Jimenez said air conditioning in Florida is “not a luxury item” but a necessity, particularly for teachers who spend their days with classrooms full of students.
- “It’s the ability to recover and rest each day,” he said. “It is very much our privilege to be able to do a little something for someone who gives us so much.”
Harris, visibly stunned, said she had been scanning the room wondering which of her colleagues was about to be recognized.
“I never win anything,” she said.
A Crestview native who attended South Side Elementary, Richbourg Middle School and Crestview High School, Harris moved to the southern end of the county after getting married and raised her children at Mary Esther Elementary. She said her current home air conditioning system is close to 15 years old.
“I just hope every day that it works,” she said. “So far it has, but I’m really excited to get a new one.”
Harris said the recognition meant more to her than she could easily put into words, reflecting on how teachers are often overlooked in the broader community.
“I don’t think a lot of teachers get recognized for how hard they work or understand what being a teacher means all day long,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s me.”
She said teaching had been a childhood dream she felt she had fulfilled.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished that dream, and I feel like in a way I’ve helped kids, whether they’re 10 years old or 8 years old,” Harris said. “In some ways, it’s more just teaching — better kids and maybe better grownups.”
Members of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce and Okaloosa County School Board Member Parker Destin were also on hand for the surprise.
