United, Mrs Baird’s team up for 16th annual Teachers on the Rise - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Each month during the school year, three Lubbock-area teachers earn the recognition, one from an elementary school, one from a middle or junior high school, and one from a high school. Nominations come straight from the people sitting across from these teachers every day, which gives the program a ground-level credibility that top-down awards rarely carry.

Winners walk away with a $100 United Supermarkets gift card, a meal for two at the Texas Tech Club, and a gift basket of Mrs Baird's products. For teachers who routinely spend their own money on classroom supplies, that kind of tangible reward lands differently than a plaque on a wall.

Sixteen years is a long run for a corporate recognition program, and two local staples, a hometown grocery chain and a bread brand with deep West Texas roots, have kept it going that long, which says something about how seriously both companies have treated the commitment.