BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Two exceptional educators were inducted into the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame after a combined 89 years of teaching at Ohio County High School and Owensboro High School.

Arthur Hale and Linda Kingsley were inducted into the coveted ranks of Kentucky educators amid a crowd of fellow educators, former students, and esteemed guests.

Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman spoke at the induction ceremony, sharing her experience as an educator and highlighting the sacrifices necessary to create such a lasting impact on generations of students.

“We have amazing teachers across Kentucky, but to be in the Teacher Hall of Fame is another level, right? And those are the teachers that, as I said, dedicate their lives. But I can guarantee you that if you ask their students what made them so special, it wouldn’t be the content. It wouldn’t be what they wrote on the board, it would be the relationship and how they made their students feel,” Coleman said.

After 54 years of teaching physics, math, and chemistry at Ohio County High School, Hale has inspired generations of students to pursue careers in STEM.

Student testimony from a current professor of chemistry said, “There is no other individual who has impacted my professional life more than Mr. Hale. He not only taught me science but also important lessons about life.”

Hale’s impact on the high school lives on through the Arthur Hale Award, presented to an Ohio County High School student each year who exemplifies perseverance and determination.

“Too many people with those hard materials, they know it, but they can’t tell nobody. So, for me, it was being real. It was about being practical, it was about being a human being. I could beat them in the head with calculus or physics, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to give them something that they can’t get anywhere else,” Hale said.

Linda Kingsley has dedicated 29 years to her career as an English teacher and speech and debate coach at Owensboro High School and still serves as a substitute teacher for the district.

Former students who submitted testimony for Kingsley all expressed her status as a mentor and a champion for effective communication, critical thinking, and thoughtful analysis. She shared that the secret to engaging her students lies in connecting the stories they share to the real situations they find in daily life.

“Showing them still that what they read can connect to them, that I care about them, and that those connections they make through reading will impact their lives. I hope I’ve introduced them to something for them to think about in a different way than they’ve thought about it before,” Kingsley said.

A complete list of Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame inductees and a nomination form for the 2025 induction can be found here.