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NCIV Honors Exemplary Citizen Diplomats

Recipients Open Home, Classroom, and Hearts to International Visitors

by Deborah Whang, NCIV Staff

Created in tribute to two stellar citizen diplomats, the Lorinne Emery Award for Volunteer Service, and the Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year Award honored a volunteer, Margaret Kidd, and an educator, Steven Couch, at the 2008 NCIV National Meeting.

Ms. Kidd, a board member and volunteer coordinator at the International Hospitality Council of Austin, was recognized for her 43 years of service and dedication to the cause of citizen diplomacy. She started her work with the International Education Administration at the University of Texas in Austin, and has continued to open her home and heart to International Visitors through the years. Though she retired in 2002, Ms. Kidd never stopped working and has continued to support the International Hospitality Council of Austin as a volunteer coordinator, recruiting, inspiring, and training volunteers like herself, while fostering relationships with International Visitors. In 2006 she became a board member of the International Hospitality Council of Austin.

Ms. Kidd also had the opportunity to work with Lorinne Emery when briefly moved from Austin to Dallas. Inspired by Ms. Emery, her passion, and her work at the Dallas Committee for International Visitors, Ms. Kidd continued her involvement in citizen diplomacy and went on to help Ms. Emery develop a larger network of volunteers to provide community contacts and home hospitality to the International Visitors.

“I had the privilege of working with Ms. Emery for a number of years and her ability to motivate, to attract, and recruit volunteers was truly inspirational,” said Ms. Kidd. It was for embodying those same qualities that Ms. Kidd was given an award in Lorinne Emery’s honor.

This year, Stephen Couch was presented with the Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year Award by Patrick Smith, Ms. Perry's grandson. In his remarks, Mr. Smith recalled his grandmother's life and work as well as her dedication to educating students about the world. He said, "She always wanted teachers to strive to bring the world... into the classroom and open their eyes to world affairs. She wanted all students to have the opportunity to learn from excited teachers who are passionate about making a difference."

Mr. Couch, a history and government teacher at Mentor High School near Cleveland, Ohio, has promoted youth understanding and involvement in international affairs for more than 10 years. In 2007, he hosted 23 IVLP participants at Mentor High School, and then advocated on behalf of additional international exchange opportunities. Mr. Couch also serves as his school’s coach for Model United Nations, which has grown from six students to more than 25 active members. Through the involvement of his students and his input, Model UN has reached out to foreign exchange students at Mentor High School, and international sisitors from the Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ Global Classroom program. He also takes students to the Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ Brown Bag lunch series in order to give them the opportunity to listen, learn, and hear expert speakers talk about international issues.

Mr. Couch credits his passion for international exchange to a tour he took after graduating from college to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, where he had the opportunity to interact and learn from those he encountered. “My tour profoundly changed my worldview. As a teacher I already know that seeing something for yourself is better than reading about it,” said Mr. Couch. It is with this in mind that Mr. Couch has reached out to students and inspired future leaders, and his selection as the 2008 Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year Award is truly a fine way to honor Ms. Perry’s memory.

PHOTOS:  (Top to bottom) Al Durtka, NCIV Board Member, presenting Margie Kidd her gift for being the recipient of the NCIV Lorinne Emery Award for Volunteer Service; Stephen Couch, NCIV Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year, Patrick Smith, grandson of Phyllis Layton Perry, and Carol Engebretson Byrne, NCIV Board Member


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