When Megan Churchill walked into her kindergarten classroom years ago, she met a teacher who would shape her entire family’s story. Decades later, she nominated Mrs. Kathy Hoyt for WHO 13’s Golden Apple Award after watching her son experience that exact same dedication.

Every school community has teachers who define its culture, the educators whose warmth turns a building into a second home. At Southeast Polk’s Runnells Elementary, Mrs. Kathy Hoyt has served as one of those steady, compassionate forces for more than 30 years.

That lifetime of dedication was formally recognized this September when WHO 13 News named Mrs. Hoyt a recipient of the Golden Apple Award, a prestigious regional honor celebrating central Iowa’s most exceptional educators.

While the award highlights her remarkable career, her true impact lives in the stories of the families she has guided across generations.

Among them is former student Megan Churchill.

Decades after sitting in Mrs. Hoyt’s kindergarten class, Churchill watched her son cross the very same threshold. He was greeted by the same generous smile, infinite patience, and gentle encouragement that had shaped his mother’s early childhood.

“Mrs. Hoyt was put on this earth to be a kindergarten teacher,” Churchill shared in her nomination letter. “Every student who has been lucky enough to be in her classroom knows just how special she is.”

That impact shows up in the playful traditions that make learning stick—like the annual wedding of the letters ‘Q’ and ‘U’, where students dress up to celebrate how the letters go together forever, or the incubator full of chicken eggs that brings science to life as students watch new chicks hatch right before their eyes.

It shows up in her legendary memory. Even years later, Mrs. Hoyt still recalls the smallest personal details about the hundreds of children who have passed through her doors.

Most of all, it shows up in the quiet moments outside the lesson plan.

When Churchill’s son unexpectedly lost his grandmother as a first-grader—a year after leaving Mrs. Hoyt’s classroom—Mrs. Hoyt showed up at the visitation. On her own personal time, she sat with him for hours, helping him process his grief with the gentle guidance only a trusted mentor can provide.

“She doesn’t simply teach her students,” Churchill noted. “She knows them, cares about them, and continues to show up for them when they need her most.”

In an era of constant change, educators with 30-year legacies offeran irreplaceable sense of continuity. They teach reading and numbers, but they also teach kindness, empathy, and how to navigate the world with courage.

The Golden Apple Award shines a well-deserved spotlight on Mrs. Hoyt’s extraordinary career. But for the families of Runnells Elementary, it simply confirms what generations of students have known all along: some teachers don’t just teach for a year—they stay with you for a lifetime.

Congratulations, Mrs. Hoyt. Southeast Polk is deeply proud to celebrate you.