Monica Beaudoin’s service to Idaho, the Idaho Education Association and public education is an inspiration. A teacher, state legislator and IEA President, Monica remained very active in the association after her retirement. She served on both the IEA and NEA Board of Directors for many years as a retired representative and was active in the North Idaho Education Association Retired Chapter. The Monica Beaudoin Retired Award was created to honor an IEA member who has continued to be active in retirement and made significant contributions to IEA as a retired member.
Richard Chilcote
Southwest Idaho Education Association – Retired
IEA President, 1989-1993
Retired educator: West Ada EA, Twin Falls EA
Nominated by: Terri Sanders
Dick Chilcote is the 2023 recipient of IEA’s Monica Beaudoin Retired Award.
Richard “Dick” Chilcote first became involved with the Idaho Education Association in the early 1970s and remains a well-known part of its team even today.
After a teaching career that started in 1969, first serving on the IEA board in 1980 and being elected IEA president in 1989, Chilcote’s commitment to the association, the teaching profession and public education is unimpeachable. That dedication and hard work for IEA members didn’t stop with his retirement.
Chilcote “was instrumental in establishing the IEA Retired Council,” according to Terri Sanders, who nominated him for the IEA’s Monica Beaudoin Retired Award. That council oversees the entire IEA program for retired members and Chilcote currently serves as its co-chair. He also orchestrated the establishment of three IEA retired chapters: one in the north (NIEARC), one in the southwest (SWEA-R), and the most recent in Region 6 (RESET6). His work continues on establishing retired chapters in IEA Regions 4 and 5.
Today, in addition to his part-time role as director of IEA Member Benefits, Chilcote continues his leadership and support for retired members at the state level serving as a one of two retired members on the IEA Board of Directors, a seat he’s held since 2004. He also offers “on-going and dynamic leadership” to the members of SWEA-R.
“Dick Chilcote is a long-standing advocate of public education,” wrote Sanders. “His accomplishments warrant being awarded the Monica Beaudoin Retired Award.”