John Fortner Award


2009 John Fortner Award Recipient

Esther Lopez was announced as the recipient of the John Fortner Award for the Outstanding Outdoor Educator for 2009. Esther was presented the award by Don Carter at the annual meeting. Esther has been active in TOEA since 1981 having been a presenter for many years and she served on the board as Recording Secretary in 1986 and 1987. She retired from teaching PE and outdoor education in the Edinburg I.S.D. in 2009, but continues to teach at various outdoor education camps and workshops as she has for the past 29 years.

History of the Award

The John Fortner Award was created in 2002 to honor the first president of TOEA. While most awards honor influential people after they are gone, the TOEA opted to honor John while he was still active in outdoor education. John was a young teacher in Corsicana with a fledgling outdoor education program in the early 1970’s when he was contacted by Ewell Sessoms, Director of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at the Texas Education Agency, whose vision was that every student before graduating from a public school in Texas would have an outdoor experience. Quite a vision 35 years ago! John continues to be humble in his achievements and vocal in his support of outdoor education.

John took a brief period away from the classroom as the Executive Director of the Dallas Safari Club and was instrumental in bringing “Project Wild” to Texas during that period. Also during that period he helped establish a fledgling organization, the Texas Outdoor Education Association. John left the business world to return to what he treasured most, teaching and especially teaching outdoor education. John helped bring the H.E. Butt Foundation Camp and TOEA to a long standing relationship. The 30th Annual State Teacher Workshop was held in October 2009 at the Foundation Camp.

Previous recipients of the John Fortner Award are:

2003 – Tresa Gilchrest, educator and Charter Member
2004 – Rick Robbins, Director of the Seguin Outdoor Education Center
2005 – Sandy Marek, elementary education teacher, principal and now retired administrator
2006 – Buddy Gilchrest, Charter Member and Professor Emeritus at Baylor University
2007 – Carol King, Charter Member and Director of the Camp Cullen Outdoor program for the Houston ISD
2008 – Selma Glasscock, former TOEA president and current Associate Director of the Welder Wildlife Foundation, Selma was selected as the winner of the 2008 John Fortner Outstanding Educator Award. Selma continues in the mold of John as being both humble in recognition and vocal in supporting outdoor education. Selma was the 2000-2001 President of TOEA and has been a presenter at TOEA as well as sending many of her staff to the annual workshops to both present and learn when she couldn’t be there.

Perhaps the best words come from Selma in her acceptance of the John Fortner Award:

“I just want to let each of you know how much I appreciate the nomination and receipt of the John Fortner Outstanding Outdoor Educator Award. This is the award to which every educator aspires. To follow in the footsteps of people like John Fortner and all of our other Founding Fathers (and Ladies!) is more than I ever expected.

It must have been about 20-something years ago that a friend of mine invited me to attend with her a workshop called TOEA on the Frio River. Now the fact that it was on a river was probably the sinker for a ‘river rat’ like me. However, it was the people, not the river, that kept me coming back all these years. You are those people and you are all my dear friends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the vote of confidence that you presented to me last Saturday night. You will never know how much it means to me. Lookin’ forward to next fall & TOEA 2009!”