The Washington 2012 ProStart Teacher of the Year award went to Rebecca (Becky) Wilson at Lincoln High School. She received her award March 3 at the Boyd Coffee ProStart Invitational, sponsored by the Washington Restaurant Association. Wilson will compete for national ProStart Teacher of the Year in Chicago in May, and will have a chance to earn money for Lincoln as well as an individual teacher stipend award.
Wilson teaches family and consumer science at Lincoln, including food and nutrition, food and fitness, and culinary arts (ProStart 1-4). Prior to coming to Lincoln several years ago, she taught in Bonney Lake.
ProStart is a restaurant school-to-career program to prepare high school juniors and seniors for careers in the food service industry, according to the Washington Restaurant Association Web site. Each year participating ProStart students showcase their talents in cooking, knife skills and restaurant management in front of chef and industry judges at the Boyd Coffee ProStart Invitational. Students compete for thousands of dollars in scholarships at the ProStart Invitational and the chance to go to nationals.
Chefs or managers interested in becoming a mentor and helping to support the future leaders of our industry or who want to learn more about the ProStart program and the ProStart Invitational, please contact Jennifer Dixon, executive assistant/event manager for the Washington Restaurant Association, at
prostart@wrahome.com.
Becky Wilson, left, ProStart teacher at Lincoln High School, confers with a Lincoln ProStart student.