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BRATTLEBORO -- As a retiree, Alice Carrier doesn't get many shiny pieces of fruit placed on her desk anymore.
But she recently traveled to the Big Apple, where a career dedicated to teaching young children recently won her one of the biggest honors bestowed upon female educators.
Carrier was the recipient of the International Achievement Award -- the highest award given by The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International -- to recognize her distinguished record of service to the organization. She was handed the award by DKG International President Dr. Jensi Souders on Thursday, July 26, during the multi-day international convention held in New York City.
She went to Manhattan with fellow DKG International member and current Vermont state organization President Lynn Wilson. By receiving the 80th International Achievement Award medallion, Carrier joins a lengthy list of well-respected recipients.
"It's a great honor. Other people who have won it include past International presidents," she said on Tuesday. "All the other people who have received the award have high levels of achievement and I'm very honored to be in that group."
She said it came as a bit of a shock when her name was announced in front the 2,000 attendees.
"I was surprised. I knew I had been nominated but I knew there were other qualified nominees there too," she said. "I didn't know until I was sitting in the audience. ... It was not something I
The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International was founded in 1929 and now has 90,000 members in 17 countries.
Carrier has served the DKG Society as its northeast regional director, international second vice president, international first vice president and the Conference Steering Committee chair for the 2009 Northeast Regional Conference held in Burlington.
Carrier also served as chair and/or member of the Society's Communication, Constitution, Leadership Development, Golden Gift Fund, International Speakers Fund, ad hoc Cornetet Bequest, and ad hoc Electric Elections committees.
A DKG member since 1982, she served as the Vermont state organization president and got the state achievement award in 2003. She is a 1986 graduate of the International Leadership Management Seminar held at the University of Texas at Austin and directed the two-week seminar -- sponsored by DKG International -- in July 2010.
Carrier taught in Windham Southeast Supervisory Union elementary schools -- primarily Canal Street and Oak Grove schools -- for more than 30 years.
Jean Gilbert, the administrative assistant to the curriculum and assessment office and WSESU Business Manager James Kane, said Carrier was the first-grade teacher for her daughter and son. Gilbert also had Carrier's mother-in-law as an educator while in the first grade at Oak Grove School.
"Alice was a wonderful teacher. I think (my children) remember her fondly," she said. "When we talk about the teachers of the past, her name ... always comes up. So she made an impact on them."
Carrier made a memorable trip out of July's convention and combined business with pleasure, staying nearly a week. She rented a room in a hotel at Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street, right in the theater district.
She and Wilson even took in a Broadway show, walking around the corner to see "Chicago."
"(The trip) was great," Carrier said. "It was really wonderful."
Domenic Poli can be reached at dpoli@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 277.
