Candidate: Mason Whidden

1.        Work History

• 1976-77 Highlands County Sheriff’s Department
• 1984-1993  Florida Army National Guard
• 1979 to 2019 -   Teacher Highlands County School Board
  • Taught at the following schools in the district:  District office, Sebring Middle School, Sebring High School, Avon Park Middle School, Hill-Gustat Middle School and serve as team leader for Social Studies

2.  Past Achievement:  I am humbled and proud to have received the Teacher of the Year five times during my career.  The dates and schools represented are reflected below:

• 1989- State of Florida Army National Guard Soldier of the Year
• 1991- Highlands County Social Studies Teacher of the Year
• 1992- Sebring Middle School Teacher of the Year
• 2000- District Office Teacher of the Year
• 2007-   Outstanding Secondary Vocational Teacher of the Year as voted by the Avon Park  Rotary Club
• 2007-   Avon Park Middle School Teacher of the Year
• 2009-   Avon Park Middle School Teacher of the Year
• 2014 -   Keynote Speaker Highlands County ECET Conference
• 2015- Keynote Speaker Highlands County International Baccalaureate Banquet
• 2015- Luncheon Speaker State ECET Convention Orlando, Florida
• 2015- Keynote Speaker Highlands County ECET Conference
• 2017- Hill-Gustat Middle School Teacher of the Year
• 2017   Highlands County District Teacher of the Year
• 2017 Finalist Champion for Children Award

3. School Community Involvement /School Involvement:

• 1979-95-   Varsity, J.V., Middle School Coach Football and Baseball
• 1990-95-    Student Government Sponsor Sebring Middle School
• 1998- 2019   Academic Team Coach for Sebring High, Avon Park Middle, and Hill-Gustat Middle Schools (these are in various schools during different years)
• 2020 Volunteer Highlands Hammock State Park

4.  Leadership:

• 1979  Humanitarian Trip to Haiti to aid Haitian people build a church
• 1988- Army Primary Leadership Development Course
• 1997 to  2019- I taught five 60 hours courses ( 4 per year) for teachers who wanted to become Gifted Endorsed
• 2007-to 2019- Led several professional development trainings in integrating technology within teachers’ classroom
• 2011-2012- Peer Evaluator and Technology Resource Teacher for Avon Middle School.  My primary responsibility was to provide professional development to teachers in integrating technology within their classrooms
• 2014- to 2019 - Member of Hill-Gustat Middle School curriculum leadership team
• 2015-   Coordinated a school-wide Veteran’s Day Recognition for Hill-Gustat
• 2016-   Coordinated a school-wide Presidential Election in conjunction with our national election.  I worked with our Supervisor of Elections Ms. Penny Ogg to obtain authentic voting machines at the school, so students would be exposed to that process.
• 2014-2016- I have been a keynote speaker at four various conferences, banquets, and a state conference.  My topic was the evolution of this profession and the importance of building relationships with students. 

5.  Personal Life:

• Married to Sandi Whidden (42 years)  graduate Stetson University 
• Two Children:Gary 2001 graduate Sebring HIgh School, 2005 United States Military Academy at West Point.  Married Alli in 2009
• Kristin (special needs) lives at home with us
• 4 Grandchildren Savannah, Jase, John Mason, Landri