For the 13th year running, the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region VII will partner to honor outstanding classified (non-supervisory) education employees in Stanislaus County. Called “Employees Making a Difference,” school districts throughout the county selected their own honorees and forwarded nominations to SCOE. Twenty-eight outstanding classified staff will be honored at a special reception at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at the Martin G. Petersen Event Center, 720 12th St., Modesto.

Among the 28 to be honored are Oakdale’s Cindy Azevedo, Library Technician at Magnolia Elementary and Shelli Ponce, Secretary at Fair Oaks Elementary.

Five of the 28 honorees will be selected to represent Stanislaus County in the California Department of Education’s statewide recognition program. The names of the five individuals will be announced at the reception, which is hosted thanks to key corporate sponsors: Association of Stanislaus County School Boards, Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo Law Firm and Mocse Credit Union.

For the eighth year, the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County will present the Jane Johnston Civility Award to one of the 28 nominees who best exemplifies the principles of civility. The award is named in honor of former SCOE Assistant Superintendent Jane Johnston, who helped launch the county-wide Choose Civility Initiative in 2010 and passed away unexpectedly in April 2012. Johnston advocated for, and co-chaired, the Employees Making a Difference Program (2008–2012), and was active with the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County.