By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

Lt. Col. Ret. Thomas G. Blue is East Columbus High School’s 2007-08 Teacher of the Year.

“It is one of the most humbling experiences in my life,” Blue said of his selection as the school’s top teacher. “It is also one of the greatest experiences of my life, knowing that my fellow teachers and administrators have this much faith in me.”

Blue, who teaches junior reserve officers and the training corps, has taught for five years at the high school level and four years at the college level. He was ECHS’s teacher of the year in 2004-05.

He became a teacher when the U.S. Army asked him to teach college ROTC at Davidson College where he had been commissioned as a second lieutenant.

“I enjoyed the experience so much that I requested to be extended in the assignment for a total of four years, the maximum the Army would allow,” he said. “It was only natural when the opportunity presented itself to teach high school JROTC that I jumped at the chance.

“Without a doubt, working with the students is the best part of teaching,” he said. “It is priceless when a student visits you years after graduation and thanks you for everything you did to help them graduate and become a better citizen.”

He said the worst part is graduation.

“Watching students walk across the stage and receive their diplomas is like having one of your own children grow up and leave home,” he said. “It always brings a tear to your eyes.”

Blue said that upgraded technology is needed most in education.

“Unfortunately, technology evolves at a rate that makes it economically unfeasible to keep current,” he said.

Born and raised in Charlotte, Blue graduated from Garinger High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his masters in administration from Central Michigan University.

During high school and college, he worked for UPS. After college, he spent 21 years in the Army before retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

He and wife Rose have two daughters, Michelle and Jennifer.

“I enjoy tinkering around the house, especially woodworking projects,” he said. “I am also a fairly competent shade-tree mechanic.”

While teaching at ECHS, the JROTC Drill Team has performed in the National High School Drill Team Competition in Daytona Beach, placing second nationally in its division and first in the state.

Also, the rifle team competed in the National JROTC Marksmanship Championship, taking third place nationally for all Army JROTC units and first in the state.

This was the first time a JROTC unit from North Carolina has qualified for this competition.