Who’s the best teacher in Botetourt County?

Last year’s top three winners were Jenny Griffin (Breckinridge Elementary School), Amanda Marshall (James River High School, Family and Consumer Sciences) and Tracy Humbert (Cloverdale Elementary School, first grade).

In 2010, the top vote-getters were Peter Walton (science teacher at Lord Botetourt), Susan Woody (third grade teacher at Buchanan Elementary) and Barbara Kolb (biology/physics teacher at James River).

In 2009, the winners were Susan Woody (Buchanan Elementary), Mary Katherine Wimmer (Lord Botetourt High School) and a tie between Doak Harbison (Lord Botetourt High School) and Barbara Kolb (James River High School.)

So who will the winners be this year in that, and many other categories?

You tell us!

Here’s your chance to honor your favorite teacher, your favorite bus driver, your favorite school staff member — and lots of others in both commercial and non-commercial categories.

Voting is now open in our fourth annual Best of Botetourt reader survey.

You can find the voting form right here (or over in the right-hand rail.)

The voting is open through midnight on Sunday, March 11; we’ll publish the results in our April 20 print edition.

A few new wrinkles: To make it easier to vote, we’ve gone ahead and listed the top six finishers last year in the business categories — although, as always, you can cast a write-in vote if your favorite isn’t already listed.

If you’ve got someone or some thing you think should be recognized, feel free to start a campaign to drum up votes.

Is there someone or something who should be recognized who doesn’t fit into a category? We always have our “best thing not on this list.”

Happy voting!

Here’s who won in 2011 and 2010 and 2009.

Got friends in other places? We also have Best Of contests underway in Salem, Southwest Roanoke County and the New River Valley.