Holmen woman showered with gifts in 'favorite things' show

Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at http://www.holmencourier.com By RANDY ERICKSON/Editor Some people like to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" every Christmas as a way of reminding themselves how good people can be and how they really do make a difference in other people's lives. Next year, though, Jeri Greenwood could just get out her tape of Monday's "Oprah" show instead. A faithful "Oprah" watcher, Greenwood and fellow Onalaska Middle School teacher Nicolle Hammes were among the 300 teachers lured to a taping of the show Saturday in Chicago. Winfrey picked Greenwood for the taping based on the short essay on education Greenwood submitted. Winfrey also picked 149 other teachers, each of whom got to bring one friend, as long as it was a certified teacher.

Onalaska Middle School special education teacher Jeri Greenwood, left, and OMS library media director Nicolle Hammes had another teacher take this picture outside the studios where they were about to tape “Oprah” last Saturday morning in Chicago. They had no idea then they were about to be lavished with thousands of dollars worth of prizes.

In an interview after the show aired Monday, Greenwood said she and Hammes took the Amtrak to Chicago Friday expecting to take part in a show saluting educators and education. And in a way, it was, as Winfrey gave a passionate monologue about the good work teachers do.

Then, Greenwood said, Winfrey started talking about how teachers were not rewarded enough for their work, and the next thing she knew, it was raining fabulous gifts. Winfrey had chosen to honor teachers in her own unique way, by including them in the annual "Oprah's Favorite Things" show.

The list of "favorite things" Winfrey wanted to share with her favorite people was a bit overwhelming, said Greenwood, a diehard "Oprah" watcher.

The list included airfare and three days and two nights at an Arizona spa, a widescreen LCD TV, a notebook computer, a top-of-the-line washer and driver, a Movado watch, a global positioning system device, clothing, bedding and items of luxury that someone of Winfrey's position can afford to have among her favorite things.

In addition, Winfrey and the CEO of Starbucks paid the taxes on the haul, so the teachers won't face an unexpected bill next April.

Greenwood, a Holmen resident, has been a special education teacher at Onalaska Middle School for seven years. A West Salem resident, Hammes grew up in Onalaska and now works at the middle school as library media director. Hammes said she didn't really want to talk about it, preferring to let the limelight shine on Greenwood because it was her essay that made it all happen.

"She deserves to get the recognition," Hammes said.

One of the things that touched Greenwood the most among the "favorite things" was the $500 gift certificate to OfficeMax, an acknowledgement of how much teachers spend out of their own pocket to equip their classrooms and students.

The lavish gifts and being part of the great TV spectacle was fun, but Greenwood said the high-profile honor of teachers is what really makes her feel rich.

"It wasn't the gift of the gifts," she said. "It was the greatest gift of being recognized."

If Greenwood's father had recognized the value of teachers the way Winfrey does, Greenwood might have been closing in on 30 years of teaching instead of seven.

Greenwood, who grew up in Memphis, said her father urged her to go into another field, mainly because teaching was not so financially rewarding.

"He didn't understand what kids can give you back, that it's not about the money," she said.

Instead of teaching, Greenwood went into the military, giving 18 years to the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of tech sergeant. When she and her husband, Steve, retired from the military, they moved back to Steve's native Iowa, and she went back to school to become a teacher.

When Greenwood came to La Crosse for a doctor's appointment, she fell in love with the area. She remembers telling her husband, "This is so beautiful. Can I live here?"

He told her she could if she got a job, and she did, at Onalaska Middle School.

Greenwood, as well as the other guests on "Oprah" were sworn to secrecy about their good fortune. All Greenwood could tell her friends and relatives before the show aired was to be sure to watch "Oprah" on Monday.

Several times while watching the show with a few friends, Greenwood's tears flowed, but then the pump had been primed many times since the show's taping.

"I've done lots of crying," Greenwood said. "My husband said, 'If you're just going to keep on crying, why don't you send it all back.'"

The tears come not from sadness, she said, but from disbelief and gratitude. "To receive things of the magnitude we received is overwhelming," Greenwood said. "I know (Oprah) has millions or billions or whatever, but she didn't have to do that. ... It was life altering."

In a way, it's hard to accept such good fortune, Greenwood said. She is part of an educational team, she said, and she couldn't do her job without everybody else - educational assistants, secretaries, administrators, other teachers, custodians - pitching in to do their part.

Being a special education teacher can feel pretty thankless sometimes, and being thanked this much feels weird, Greenwood said. She's dealing with it by spreading some of her good fortune around. Only a day after her return from Chicago she had already begun passing on some of those gifts.

Part of that comes from something Greenwood remembers Winfrey saying off camera in the studio. "She said, 'Remember to pay it forward.'"