At times, their contributions to education may fly under the radar.

But, not on this night, as the Carbon County Education Association held its Biennial Friend of Education Dinner Thursday at Blue Ridge Country Club.Following dinner, the awards ceremony began to take shape with a welcome from Michelle Muffley, president of the Carbon County Education Association.The list of 2013 honorees were Carbon County Central Labor Chapter, Carbon County Education Association; the late Thomas P. Henry, Carbon Career & Technical Institute; Kathy Saxon, Jim Thorpe Education Association; Mark Weidner, Lehighton Area Education Association; Country Harvest Family Market, Palmerton Area Education Association; The Dictionary Project, William Gardiner and Francis Koomar, Panther Valley Education Association; and the Weatherly Area High School Alumni Association, Weatherly Area Education Association.Muffley introduced the first recipient, the Carbon County Central Labor Chapter.Of the organization, Muffley referred to it as the "voice for the students and teachers."Terry Whiteman, president, accepted the award on the organization's behalf.Whiteman said he was "honored" to receive the award, and thanked the CCEA for "graciously bestowing this award on our chapter. You teachers are the true inspiration for our children's' success."Joseph Farkas, former president of the CCTI Education Association, introduced the next recipient, the late Thomas P. Henry.Farkas said Henry always had a special place in his heart for CCTI, and added that he was at every open house and trade show.Dolores Henry, the wife of Thomas Henry, and their son, Patrick Henry, accepted the award."My father went to trade school; he knew that a trade was important," Patrick Henry said. "Thank you very much."Saxon, Jim Thorpe Council PTA President, was not able to be in attendance.Ryan Chlubicki, a teacher in the Jim Thorpe Area School District, accepted the award on Saxon's behalf.Chlubicki spoke of Saxon's merits, and added "Kathy is truly honored to win this award."Trevor Gilloti, a teacher in the Lehighton Area School District, introduced the next award recipient, Mark Weidner.Gilloti said Weidner, the owner and operator of Beltzville Subway, "is a strong supporter of public education.""He always looks to give back," Gilloti said. "Thank you, and we look forward to working with you in the future."Weidner said he was "honored to receive this award.""I've met a lot of great friends tonight," Weidner said. "I'm looking forward to do a lot of great things in the future."Muffley then introduced the next recipient, Country Harvest Family Market.Of the family-run business, Muffley said "they are a constant supporter of our students. They show their commitment, and don't ask anything from us."Chris Anthony accepted the award on the family's behalf."A lot of the success in my life is due to the teachers who have touched my life as an educator," Anthony said. "Education is a very powerful career."Anthony added "I'm very grateful; the family's really grateful.""This isn't really necessary," he said. "We're happy to give as much as we can."Joe Sweeney, president of the Panther Valley Education Association, introduced the next recipient, The Dictionary Project, comprised of Gardiner and Koomar.Sweeney said the duo has donated over 1,600 dictionaries to third grade students at Panther Valley Elementary and Our Lady of the Angels Academy in Lansford.Gardiner accepted on behalf of himself and Koomar, who was unable to attend.It was noted by Gardiner that The Dictionary Project was founded by Mary French in 1995 to provide personal copies of a dictionary for third grade students in the South Carolina public school system.To date, over 19 million dictionaries have been donated to children in the United States and internationally.Barbara Sipler, president of the Weatherly Area Education Association, introduced the final recipient, Todd Gimbi, president of the Weatherly Area High School Alumni Association.Sipler said Gimbi "puts our schools, students, and education before anything else."Gimbi said the organization is all too happy to assist in whatever capacity it can."We're very pleased to accept this award," Gimbi said. "We've done a lot of work the past 21 years, and will continue to do a lot of good things."Muffley then gave closing remarks, at which time she said "I would like to thank all of the recipients for all that you do."