Dr. Richard Gardiner, History Teacher at The Heritage School since 2019 was named 1st Place Winner as
High School Teacher of the Year in the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award Program for Post 2667. The VFW recognizes classroom teachers who teach citizenship education topics regularly such as civic responsibility, flag etiquette, patriotism and America’s history and traditions.

Dr. Gardiner graduated from Marquette University in 2005 with a major in History and his philosophy of teaching is simply “to love it!” Dr. Gardiner brings history to life in his classroom by portraying historical characters, emphasizing the personalization of the study of history, local history ties, field trips and guest speakers. His love for history has been cited in numerous periodicals including the New York Times, Time Magazine, VFW Magazine, Washington Post and many, many more. Dr. Gardiner also communicates his love of history through appearances as guest speaker for the National Infantry Museum Foundation Youth Lecture Series and during Local Author Saturday events in Columbus, GA.

Dr. Gardiner was nominated for this award by the Heritage School Social Studies Department Chair Ms. Kristina Marchman.

He received a certificate and a monetary award. His nomination has now advanced to District Level judging.