PACCA 2017 Award Winners
Meet this Year's Award Winners
Each year PACCA asks its members to nominate their colleagues, those they feel have contributed to the early care and education profession. We received 23 nominations for the two awards this year all demonstrating extraordinary talents, gifts and commitment to the field. Awards were presented at the Early Childhood Summit on October 17, 2017.
Because of our outstanding nominations this year, the committee selected two nominees to receive the Educator of the Year award. Moving forward, PACCA will be annually recognizing both a home-based educator and center-based educator. The Educator of the Year honors an individual for their outstanding service and accomplishments in the classroom. Selecting an individual to represent the best in these categories is a challenging task because so many are deserving of recognition.
The Educator of the Year award was presented to Bridget Heinl (photo above, right) of Bridget Heinl Family Child Care Home in Hershey. She has more than 31 years of experience in the early care and education field. She has worked at a before & after school program, a nursery school, child care centers, and has operated family child care homes in two different communities in Central Pennsylvania. Her program is accredited by NAFCC (National Association for Family Child Care) and has been designated STAR 4 in Keystone STARS. The nomination and support letter-writers emphasized her dedication, her warmth, and her support of other early care providers.

PACCA acknowledges and applauds the tremendous work that all the award winners and the nominees have accomplished.