Lifetime Achievement Award
Bolton Newland Lunceford & Louise Newland Capen Honorarium
GCTE’s greatest honor, the Bolton Newland Lunceford / Louise Newland Capen Lifetime Achievement Award, is bestowed upon individuals recognized for a lifetime of distinguished service in the teaching of English and the language arts.
Recipients must be currently teaching or retired, have taught English or language arts for at least 20 years, and have made lasting contributions to their students' intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth.
The award is named for two sisters: Sarah Louise Newland Capen (1913–2001), a global missionary, educator, and editor; and Bolton Newland Lunceford (1921–2009), an award-winning Georgia English teacher, longtime GCTE treasurer and president, and a leader in adult and theatre education across the Southeast.
Louise Capen’s decades of service abroad included designing a Thai-English cookbook, leading factory housing initiatives, and co-founding the Samaritans of Singapore. Bolton Lunceford’s impact included launching adult ESL programs, leading theatre organizations, and earning multiple statewide teaching honors. She was the first recipient of this award in 2002.
