LAS VEGAS, July 9, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- City National Bank and FOX5 today announced that they have awarded Laura Ground, a second grade teacher at Cunningham Elementary School in the Clark County School District, with a $1,000 check as the first recipient of the "One Class at a Time" educational outreach program. The bank and FOX5 introduced this new teacher recognition program on May 29 at the unveiling of the City National Bank brand in Nevada. (For an image related to this story, go to http://cnb.com/images/Laura_Ground.jpg.)
Ground was among dozens of teachers in the Clark County School District who were nominated by fellow educators, students and parents for this prestigious award during the month of June. The "One Class at a Time" program was developed by FOX5 and was co-sponsored by City National as a way to recognize teachers who go above and beyond their regular teaching responsibilities. Each month a selection committee reviews applications that are submitted online at www.fox5vegas.com or accessed through any City National Bank branch.
"We believe teachers are the unsung heroes of our community and the ones who deserve much more recognition then they currently receive, which is why we partnered with FOX5 on this wonderful teacher recognition program," said John Guedry, executive vice president and Nevada region manager. "It was very satisfying to present Ms. Ground with the first of many $1,000 checks we'll be awarding each month to very deserving teachers throughout the school district."
Ground's selection was based on a number of factors and criteria that set her apart from other teachers, including her ability to use multi-sensory items to motivate and deepen the learning experience of every student, the use of sliced food items when teaching fractions and nutrition, and developing lessons centered around her northeastern Indian tribe - Iroquois - which included artifacts and maps enclosed in a truck that was made available to teachers throughout the district.
"FOX5 is very proud to team up with City National Bank in recognizing Ms. Ground as our first recipient of this wonderful award," said Holly Steuart, vice president and general manager of FOX5 Television.
"She truly exemplifies what this award is all about and how she goes above and beyond to enrich the educational experiences of her students. We look forward each month to highlighting the winning teacher on FOX5 News as a tribute to their dedication and commitment to teaching."
Steuart went on to say that the teacher tributes will air the first Thursday of every month at 10:00 p.m., and will be repeated in the FOX5 Morning News the following Friday.
City National and FOX5 are working very closely with the Clark County School District's School-Community Partnership Program to administer the "One Class at a Time" teacher recognition program. The District's Board of Trustees were very supportive of this program when it was presented to them earlier this year. The endorsement of the program was made public at City National's brand unveiling event by Dr. Walt Rulffes, superintendent of the Clark County School District, and Terri Janison, vice president of the Board of Trustees for District E of the Clark County School District.
"City National and FOX5 are to be commended for their support of education and more particularly for their wonderful teacher recognition program," said Dr. Rulffes. "We have a number of teachers throughout the district who are excellent candidates for this award. All too often teachers are paying for additional supplies out of their own pocket, which can be a financial hardship for many of our teachers."
At this time next year, City National and FOX5 will pay tribute to the 12 teachers who have won this prestigious award at a recognition luncheon held in their honor. Additional awards will be presented to each teacher at this recognition event. City National's "Reading is The Way Up(r)" literacy program mascot "Blue" will also be featured at this function. Since 2002, when this child literacy program was initially lunched in California, City National has donated over $2 million in support of education and more than 20,000 books to school libraries in California and Nevada. For more information about this award-winning educational program, go to www.readingisthewayup.org.
About City National
City National Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of City National Corporation (NYSE:CYN). It is backed by more than $15 billion in assets and provides banking, investment and trust services through 62 offices, including 15 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada and New York City. The company and its nine majority-owned investment affiliates manage or administer more than $55 billion in client investment assets, including nearly $35 billion under direct management.
City National has eight branch offices in Nevada, including four in Las Vegas and one each in North Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City and Minden. The bank also has loan production offices in Reno and Stateline in South Lake Tahoe.
For more information about City National, visit the company's website at www.cnb.com.
The City National Bank logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3143