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BEMIDJI 鈥� MacKenzie Burnham鈥檚 commitment to education and community has earned her the title of Teacher of the Year from the .

This honor follows Burnham鈥檚 life-saving kidney donation to local veteran Mike Boyd. Burnham, a fourth-grade teacher at Gene Dillon Elementary, was nominated by Adjutant Curt Anderson, a veteran and member of Post 1260.

The VFW Teacher of the Year award ceremony involves a multi-step nomination process across different levels.

鈥淭he Department of Minnesota鈥檚 VFW organization is split up into nine different districts. District 9, where Post 1260 is located, is comprised of 21 VFW posts that span from Roseau and Warroad to Moorhead and New York Mills," Anderson explained.

Each post in District 9 can nominate up to three teachers in different categories based on the grades they teach: K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. This year, Post 1260 opted to only nominate one person in the K-5 category, and that was Burnham.

Nominations will then be judged on a statewide level through the Department of Minnesota's VFW, with judges determining three winners. The winners will be announced at the department's mid-winter conference in January.

After the state-level winners are selected, the national VFW organization will review them, with the final national winner announced in March.

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Burnham expressed her gratitude and surprise following the recognition, especially considering how many schools fall under District 9.

鈥淚t was definitely a shock. I was not expecting it, even the nomination had surprised me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 won for District 9, which is 140 schools, so that鈥檚 kind of cool.鈥�

Speaking on why Burnham was chosen for the honor, Anderson said that he had initially seen the Pioneer article about her kidney donation.

鈥淵ou want to look at a teacher who is, whether it's through an education example or personal example, showing the civic commitment that you can have to your community and to the veterans,鈥� Anderson said.

Anderson noted that the selfless act set a positive example for people in the community.

鈥淯ltimately her donation helped a local veteran with his kidney and the fact that the example that she set by doing that is going to have a lot of influence over all of the young community minds that she works with," he said. "For me, there was no better person to nominate.鈥�

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Burnham鈥檚 recognition at the local and district levels was celebrated during the VFW鈥檚 annual Pearl Harbor Banquet at the Eagles Club, where she was awarded a plaque, certificate and a $300 prize, which she reinvested into her classroom.

鈥淚t was fun because I told (my students), 鈥楥hristmas is upon us, and I did get some money for this award, and I think we need some new games in the classroom,鈥欌�� Burnham recalled.

Anderson expressed that Burnham鈥檚 kidney donation and her role as an educator are making a lasting impact, not only on her students but also on the community as a whole.

鈥淔or me, there was no better person to nominate for this award than MacKenzie, based off of her selfless action to help a veteran in need,鈥� Anderson concluded.