On April 24, the National Right to Work Committee presented Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE) executive director Ginger Tinney with the Carol Applegate Education Award.

Ginger Tinney (center) with National Right to Work Chairman of the Executive Committee Reed Larson and President Mark Mix 

Tinney was a teacher for more than 11 years before taking on her full-time role as executive director of POE. She taught in both regular and special education, at elementary and secondary grade levels, and in urban and rural school districts.

Vice president of National Right to Work Stefan Gleason stated in the POE’s news release:

“We have had the pleasure of working with Ginger Tinney over many years, and we’ve always been impressed with her leadership skills, her passion for teacher excellence, and her passion for the principles of freedom and volunteerism that embody the Right to Work cause."

The Carol Applegate Education Award is presented annually by the Committee’s Board of Directors to exceptional educators who take courageous stands against the coercive policies of the National Education Association (NEA) union. The award is named in honor of Carol Applegate, a longtime English teacher who refused to formally join the NEA union and was fired from her job.

A longtime member of Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (an umbrella organization established by the National Right to Work Foundation), the Professional Oklahoma Educators is a all voluntary professional educators association that serves more than 4,000 teachers, administrators, and support professionals in Oklahoma. The group puts children first and focuses on true professionalism, unlike its militant union counterpart. For more information on the POE, click here.