About

The Economic Council William T. Dwyer Awards For Excellence In Education

Established in 1985 by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, the William T. Dwyer Awards celebrates it silver anniversary recognizing outstanding achievement by teachers in Palm Beach County. The program is dedicated to rewarding teachers who have shown excellence in education, civic duty, leadership and business awareness. The Dwyer Award signifies one of the premier honors a teacher can receive in Palm Beach County.

William T. Dwyer

The awards program is named for the late William T. Dwyer, a dynamic community leader and highly respected vice president of Pratt & Whitney's Government Products Division. His service on a multitude of state, regional and county boards and committees evidenced his commitment to excellence in education. They included the Economic Council's K-12 Education Task Force, Florida Atlantic University's advisory board for its College of Engineering, the State Advisory Committee on Business Education, the Florida Chamber of Commerce's education committee, the Palm Beach Junior College Foundation's board of directors and the Quality Incentives Council. William Dwyer was the Economic Council of Palm Beach County's chairman in 1977 and the founding president of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County.

Economic Council of Palm Beach County

The Economic Council has been serving the citizens of Palm Beach County since 1975. The Council's mission is to create an environment to help businesses prosper. To achieve this, the Council researches and implements creative programs for citizens and assists government officials in solving the county's problems. It is involved in the social, economic and political process of the county and offers itself as a catalyst between the public and private sectors to promote dialogue, planning and action.

The Economic Council is a non-for-profit, non-governmental, nonpartisan, private business organization. Membership is by invitation only and limited to 150 key business leaders in Palm Beach County. Its members represent every geographic area of the county, all major business categories, and all sizes of businesses. These characteristics and the Council's history of advocating positive change have enabled it to be a respected "voice of business" on issues affecting the Palm Beach County community.

Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Inc.

Founded in 1984, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting effective educational practices through public-private partnerships, community collaboration and private-sector resources. Its vision is high achievement by all students in Palm Beach County's public schools. With the support it receives from contributions and grants, the Education Foundation provides resources for innovative classroom and school budget allocations. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors and is staffed by an Executive Director, Program Director and Executive Assistant, who oversees fundraising, programs and recognition events.

The Foundation's mission is to advance excellence in public education by increasing public awareness and sustain community support for programs focused on Learning, Literacy and Leadership.