Four teachers with a combined 100 years of experience will be honored Wednesday, April 30, as they are inducted into the Lebanon City Schools Hall of Fame.

The teachers being honored this year are John Zimkus, Cathy Howell, Doris Nell and Ellen Donisi. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. in the Berry Intermediate School auditorium.

The honorees are:

John Zimkus

Known as the local history expert, Zimkus did not even grow up in Ohio. In fact, it was a ninth-grade teacher in Connecticut who inspired him to take the path he did.

After 35 years of teaching Ohio history to seventh graders in Lebanon, Zimkus is now retired but still works two part-time jobs, as the Warren County Historical Society's education director and as the "roving historian" at the Golden Lamb.

"I'm still teaching," Zimkus said. "(But) the one thing I miss most is the relationships with the students."

Leaving behind 35 years of interacting with kids on a daily basis will do that to a teacher. When he started teaching at Lebanon Junior High, Zimkus said he found Ohio history "to be a subject I really loved."

With a desire to instill the same passion in his students, Zimkus found innovative ways to leave students with what he calls a "spice of history" — interesting facts that might not be the most crucial, but ones students will remember.

Zimkus said his "Ohioan of the Day" tidbits are "probably the one thing my students remembered the best throughout the years."

Zimkus put some of his knowledge into his book, Historical Footnotes of Lebanon, Ohio.

Cathy Howell

Teaching kindergarten for 32 years has not changed Howell's attitude toward children or teaching.

"I love the innocence, the honesty of that age," Howell said of teaching kindergartners. "It's been such a joy and a pleasure to start children off with a strong foundation."

At that early age, she said, children's minds are open to learning, and their excitement when they learn something new is evident on their faces. Helping students to reach that point is what kept Howell going for so many years.

"It's my passion," Howell said, as well as one of the things — along with the hugs — she will miss the most.

Howell added that she looks back and has to laugh at some of the things her students would say.

"It was so funny when children would say I was the best teacher they ever had," she said. "I was their only one!"

Howell spent 16 years in the classroom Holbrook Elementary and six more at Lebanon United Methodist Church Preschool and Kindergarten. Prior to coming to Lebanon, Howell spent time in Carlisle and Upper Arlington. She continues to work as a literacy consultant for several school districts, providing professional development for teachers.

Ellen Donisi

"It's the most fulfilling job there is," Donisi said of witnessing the development of a child from the beginning of first grade to the end.

Donisi taught first grade for 13 years, including returning to the classroom in 2006 after an 11-year hiatus. During that time, Donisi continued to work for Lebanon schools both as a reading teacher and instructional leader.

"I've always been a learner and a studier," said Donisi, who added that she wanted to pass that mind set on to children. "I was very interested in teaching kids to read."

Donisi's personal interest in finding out how kids learn to read led her to the Reading Recovery program, which allowed her to work one-on-one with students, implementing specific lessons for each student, as well as observing other teachers and their methods.

"I learned (that teaching children to read) really is rocket science," she said. "It was really rewarding and intense."

With her mother and aunt teaching before her, teaching runs deep in Donisi's blood, which might be one reason she was led back to the classroom for one more year.

"I'll never forget that class," she said. "I was ready to try something new even with that last class."

Donisi, who is married to a teacher, spends her time volunteering as a reading tutor in her daughter's classroom in Dayton.

Doris Nell

Doris Nell loved her job so much she logged more than a half million miles driving to Lebanon from her home in Fairfield. Nell spent 26 years teaching English at Lebanon High School, also serving in Finneytown and Tecumseh.

"It's delightful. It's very special," Nell said of going into the Lebanon Hall of Fame. "The district was a pleasure to teach in."

Nell said she most enjoyed teaching literature and writing because she considered those some of the most important skills students needed to know. She served as the chair of the English department until her retirement.

Nell said she will likely be remembered by students for her costumes during Right to Read Week and Halloween, and the senior class' annual tradition of "borrowing" a little red desk she kept in her classroom.

"The students were wonderful," Nell said. "They were one of the reasons I stayed in Lebanon."

After one year of treatment, Nell is now recovering from two forms of breast cancer.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4507 or rycook@coxohio.com.

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