FAIRMONT — Long-time Fairmont Area Schools teacher Bob Bonin is in the running for the National Rural Teacher of the Year award.

Last school year, Bonin was named a Minnesota Educator of Excellence by the Minnesota Rural Education Association. He was one of just four teachers in the state given the honor and the first teacher from Fairmont to be selected.

The association nominated Bonin for the national honor. He is one of just 18 nominees from around the country, and the only nominee from Minnesota.

The National Rural Education Association will recognize the 2019 honoree at a banquet in Louisville, Kentucky, in conjunction with the national conference that takes place Oct. 22-24. The winner will be informed several weeks before the conference because he or she will be giving an hour-long keynote speech during the conference.

Bonin said that when he found out he was in the running for the National Rural Teacher of the Year award, he was overwhelmed.

“There was some lengthy paperwork to fill out and you had to write a paper that talks about your educational experience and what you’ve done to promote and grow your program and how you’re bettering the community through your teaching,” he said.

Bonin has been with Fairmont Area Schools for 22 years. He is a vocational teacher at the high school.

Most notably, Bonin has been highly involved in the school’s welding academy. It gives students and adults from the area the opportunity to take a 15-week course that ends with a safety test and a certificate of completion.

There are currently a large number of Fairmont graduates who have taken Bonin’s classes working at local companies including Zierke Built Manufacturing, Weigh-Tronix and AGCO.

Bonin said the success of the program has been a group effort.

“I think it speaks to how we’re doing with our welding academy at the high school,” he said. “All the time and money and effort that everyone is putting in besides myself, there’s the administration, staff and community that help make it strong.”

“It’s a real honor for one of our teacher to be nominated,” said Fairmont Area Schools Superintendent Joe Brown. “I personally nominated him to be considered for the state teacher of the year. He’s such a strong candidate and what he’s doing is so important to what is needed in this country right now.”