2023 Award Recipients

David Johnson

Hall of Fame

Anoka Technical College

Theron headshot

Automotive Program

Exemplary Secondary Program of the Year

Anoka-Hennepin
STEP

Drew Headshot

Drew Goddard

Outstanding Educator of the Year

Hennepin Technical College

Tyler headshot

Tyler Kunstleben

Outstanding New Educator of the Year

St. Cloud Technical and Community College

Travis Hetteen

Program Supporter of the Year

Knife River

TCOE Awards logo

Our Goal is simple

The TCOE Awards are meant to publicly and meaningfully recognize great people and organizations who have the most tremendous impact on our state’s high quality transportation-related education programs.

We are proud to sponsor these awards to educators, advocates, supporters, and industry partners, for their outstanding contributions to the field of transportation education.  Award recipients are nominated by their peers and are selected by the TCOE Awards Committee each summer. We sincerely hope you will use this opportunity to help us recognize and promote the good work that is happening across the state of Minnesota.

Nominators are asked to provide some basic information about the candidate, as well as a minimum of three letters of recommendation from varied sources. The deadline for submissions is June 1st, nominations can be submitted at any time. Please review the TCOE Awards Criteria before filling out the nomination

Award categories


Hall of Fame
Commemorates lifetime contributions to transportation education in Minnesota.

Outstanding Educator of the Year
Celebrates educational and instructional excellence in the field of transportation teaching and learning.

Outstanding New Educator of the Year
Recognizes early-career educators who demonstrate a deep commitment to, and potential for, excellence in the field of transportation teaching and learning.

Exemplary College Program of the Year
Showcases post-secondary level transportation programs that serve as exemplary models of institutional support, instructional leadership, and program-wide excellence.

Exemplary Secondary Program of the Year
Showcases secondary level transportation programs that serve as exemplary models of institutional support, instructional leadership, and program-wide excellence.

Transportation Program Supporter of the Year
Applauds the efforts of individuals and/or industry partners across Minnesota who have demonstrated exemplary support, through gifts of their time, talent, or resources, of transportation-related educational programs.

Academic Professional of the Year
Recognizes the efforts of an academic professional from Minnesota who has demonstrated exemplary job performance through their high quality work and steadfast support of transportation-related educational programs.

Awards Presentation

The TCOE presents these awards each year during the first week of August at the MTTIA Conference.

Previous Award recipients

2022

Hall of Fame
Tom Brandt
Minnesota State College Southeast

Outstanding Educator of the Year
Olle Gladso
Riverland Community College

Outstanding New Educator of the Year
John Clancy
Moorhead High School

Exemplary College Program of the Year
Heavy Equipment Operations and Maintenance
Central Lakes College

Transportation Program Supporter of the Year
Bill Bartholomay
Wurth USA

Academic Professional of the Year
Andrea Thiner
Moorhead High School

2021

Hall of Fame
Dale Derung
St. Cloud Technical and Community College

Outstanding Educator of the Year
Jeff Schneider
Moorhead High School

Outstanding New Educator of the Year
Amanda Evenson
Minnesota State College Southeast

Exemplary College Program of the Year
Hibbing Community College’s Automotive Program
Kevin Hyduke and Wayne Trenholm

Transportation Program Supporter of the Year – Individual
Judell Anderson
AASP-MN

Transportation Program Supporter of the Year – Business
Brenny Transportation

Academic Professional of the Year
Leanne Pearson
St. Cloud Technical and Community CollegeCollege

2020

Hall of Fame
Mike Lehn
ASE Education Foundation

Outstanding Educator of the Year
John Witthauer
Northeast Metro 916 Career and Technical Center

Outstanding New Educator of the Year
Jonathan Rymer
Riverland Community College

Transportation Program Supporter of the Year
Dan Walton
Viking Land Harley Davidson

Academic Professional of the Year
Carl Borleis
Alexandria Technical and Community College