PICKENS COUNTY — The votes are all in, and a Dacusville teacher got top honors this year, being named 2009-2010 School District of Pickens County Teacher of the Year.

Anita Richardson is a third-grade teacher at Dacusville Elementary.

She started her career as a teacher at Six Mile Elementary, where she taught until 2007, according to Julie Thompson, a spokesperson for the school district.

When applying for the honor, Richardson wrote that “teaching is not what I do but who I am,” Thompson said.

“Showing today’s students that they can dream big is only the beginning to unleashing the intrinsic power locked in every individual,” Richardson wrote. “Dreams are the bars for goals. Dreaming big and setting high goals are magical, taking students from the ordinary to the extraordinary and often unexpected.”

Richardson graduated from Clemson University with both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, Thompson said.

Joining her in being honored by the school district, Kim Brank was named support employee of the year.

Brank is a secretary at Simpson Alternative Center for Education, and she has worked for the school district since 2001, according to Thompson.

Before joining the Simpson staff in 2008, she was an assistant in a special needs classroom, a homework center coordinator and a substitute teacher.

Karen West, a counselor, said Brank was one of Simpson’s “most versatile, most respected and most dedicated employees.”

“In addition to going the extra mile for students, Mrs. Brank is loved and respected by fellow colleagues as well,” West said.

“Her volunteerism and compassion for all people make her an integral part of our school,” she said.