Hartselle City Schools and the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed Hartselle’s teachers and various staff members back for the 2018-19 school year with a breakfast at First United Methodist Church Aug. 3.

Hundreds of eager teachers waited in line and walked the halls of the church gathering goodies provided by 13 local sponsors and vendors, including Zoey’s Downtown, People’s Bank, Redstone Federal Credit Union, Gilchrist Pharmacy and Journeys By Design Travel and Tours.

The event was presented by State Farm agent Michael Holifield.

According to chamber president Andrea Owensby, this is the first time for the annual event with vendor participation.

“That was all new. This was a true kickoff,” said Owensby. “We had members of our community who said ‘Hey, we want to help with that. We want to give them some goodies and let them know they we care about them.’

“It was exciting, and it made them feel special.”

Amy Gilliand, who teaches third grade at Crestline Elementary, said she was impressed with the new features of the event.

“This is awesome. This is the first year they’ve done all this,” Gilliand said. “We thought we were just getting breakfast, but this is great.”

After breakfast, Hartselle City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Dee Jones welcomed the crowd and, together with school principals, recognized the 48 employees of the school system.

Ending the event, Jones exhorted all Hartselle City School staff to be a positive influence in the lives of their students. Jones said the system is seeing its highest number of students in history, with an enrollment of more than 3,500.

“That’s the highest Hartselle City has ever had, and that’s not all out of district like you might think. People are moving to Hartselle. They want this for their kids, and we have it,” Jones said. “You have that opportunity to make that difference. We have to do it. It’s up to us.

“People want what we have, and families want what we offer. Go be that game changer – that person who makes a difference.”