Richard H. Balomenos Memorial Award

The Richard H. Balomenos Memorial Award was established by the Executive Board of NHTM in 1987, to remember and honor a former colleague, educator, and friend. Richard Balomenos and his wife, Georgia, died tragically in an automobile accident in December 1986. As both teacher and administrator at the University of New Hampshire for almost 25 years, Richard had a profound influence on mathematics education in the state of New Hampshire. The award is presented annually to a New Hampshire mathematics educator who has shown outstanding or meritorious service or leadership to the mathematics education community on a statewide basis.

 

Past recipients:

1988 Ferd Prevost	1999 Karen Graham	2010 Barbara Boschmans
1989 Kay Reardon	2000 David Kent	2011 No Award Given
1990 Carol Findell	2001 Barbara Hill	2012 No Award Given
1991 Laurie Boswell	2002 Cecile M. Carlton	2013 Christine Downing
1992 Richard Evans	2003 Roberta Kieronski	2014 Rich Andrusiak
1993 Joan Ferrini-Mundy	2004 Tim Kurtz	2015 Greg Superchi
1994 Enid Burrows	2005 Judy Curran Buck	2016 Stephanie Wheeler
1995 Betty Erickson	2006 Darien Lauten	2017-21 No Award Given
1996 Art Johnson	2007 William J. Roberts	2022 Annie K. Wallace
1997 Lew Knight	2008 Brian P. Beaudrie
1998 Beverly Ferrucci	2009 Albert B. Bennett

Richard H. Balomenos Memorial Award 

23 March 2022

 

Balomenos Award Citation for Annie Wallace

Read by Robert Lukasiak, 2018-2020 NHTM President at the New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics Spring Conference, March 23, 2022.

Our Richard H. Balomenos Memorial Award recipient’s outstanding service and leadership has had, and continues to have, a profound influence on the NH mathematics community on local, regional, and state-wide levels.

Anyone who knows our honoree understands what an incredible person she is and what a joy it is to work with her.  She is always learning and challenging herself – sometimes even beyond what seems to be humanly possible!  I am proud to be able to call her a friend and a colleague.  She has had a profound influence on my own personal and professional development.  Her impact on the NH mathematics community is unparalleled and, thankfully, ongoing. 

Her journey as a mathematics educator can be traced back to the late 1970’s when she provided math tutoring while working at a summer camp.  Later, while raising a family, she served her community by providing “Math in Cooking” lessons at the local school as well as math and science activities at the public library.

After teaching math and science at a small private school (PK-12), as well as some long-term substitute positions, she was hired as an 8^th grade mathematics teacher at Merrimack Middle School where she worked from 2004 until 2011.  She immediately demonstrated that she was committed to serve beyond her assigned duties by taking on additional responsibilities and leadership roles such as adviser, facilitator, program developer, and mentor to pre-service teachers.

Next, from 2011 to 2020, she held a position at Hampstead Middle School. While being asked to fulfill a variety of roles including teacher, facilitator, interventionist, coach, specialist, and data analyst, her contributions at HMS were significant and highly respected.  A former colleague wrote: “I heard that you are leaving HMS to work for the DOE.  I am happy for you.  They are getting one of the finest on their team.  You really get math, students, teachers, and what needs to be done in education.  New Hampshire is so lucky to have you.  You will certainly be missed at HMS though.  In all my years there I never saw anyone who worked harder to make sure all students, at all levels, got what they needed in mathematics.  You are irreplaceable.  I wish you the best in your new job and am so thankful I had the opportunity to work with you….”

The “new job” to which our award recipient was transitioning is her current position at the NH Department of Education.  Again, she is wearing many hats and leading by example.  For certain, her vast set of talents and experiences are serving her well at the DoE.  Consequently, the NH mathematics community is also being served well.  She has become a tremendous resource at the state level as she continues to demonstrate a selfless commitment to supporting the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning in NH.

Before transitioning to the NH DoE, and beyond her teaching duties and responsibilities, she was also dedicating herself to numerous other activities and efforts – many at the state level.  Here are some examples:

• ·         NHTI instructor, program developer, grant project coordinator – (2007 until present)
• ·         NH Quantitative Literacy Project (2008-2009)
• ·         Statewide Professional Learning Community (2010)
• ·         NH DoE Professional Standards Board (served, co-chaired, chaired) (2014-2020)
• ·         NH STEM Education Task Force (2015-2016)
• ·         NCSM 2018 Iris Carl Travel Grant Recipient
• ·         Program Reviewer for NH Council for Teacher Education – multiple years
• ·         Test Item Review Committee – multiple years
• ·         PAEMST Reviewer – multiple years
• ·         UNH-Durham Adjunct Instructor - currently
• ·         Saint Anselm College – Guest Lecturer – Spring 2022 semesters.
• ·         Conference Presenter – locally, statewide, regionally, and nationally.

Perhaps one of her greatest contributions to the NH mathematics community, and because I got to share much of this time with her, is her work on the board of the NHTM.  She joined the board in 2012 and has served for ten years and counting.  She has held at least five or six different roles and has performed admirably in each one.  In some cases, her roles have required her to represent the NHTM regionally and nationally.  Annie Wallace’s dedication, leadership, and service as a member of the NHTM board, alone, is worthy of her being honored with this year’s Richard H. Balomenos Memorial Award. 

To nominate a deserving individual for this award send the nomination information explaining why this individual merits this recognition, the name and contact information of the person making the nomination to the current President of NHTM  no later than January 1 by e-mail to: nhtmpresident@nhmathteachers.org.