As a student at Southside High School, Heather Almaroad was pretty sure she would become a teacher. It just sounded like an interesting, enjoyable job that would enable her to make a difference in the world.In college, she pursued her other interest, retail, and ended up getting a degree in marketing from Jacksonville State University. During the four years she worked as a sales representative and a relationship banking officer the desire to teach never went away.
She ended up going back to JSU through the fifth year program to receive a master’s degree in secondary education in social science.
It didn’t take long for an opportunity to arise for her to teach business education classes at Ohatchee High School. She jumped right in and hasn’t looked back. That was in 1998.
“I¹ve always said that the two degrees are the best of both my worlds, because I love business and I love teaching,” said Heather. “I gained a lot of experience using my marketing degree that I was able to use in my classroom. I established a work ethic, and I was able to make business contacts that I later invited to speak to my students.”
Heather said she is happy and content teaching.
“I couldn¹t put in all the hours I do if I didn’t enjoy it,” she said. “But I don’t mind the extra hours. I love my students. I hope I have a positive effect on their lives. I think every teacher’s goal is to be a positive influence for their students and to open doors of opportunities for them.”
She said she knows she’s doing something right when her students bring home awards from FBLA competitions that allow them the opportunity to travel to cities across the country.
She has also received awards herself, one of which is being nominated for Ohatchee High’s Teacher of the Year and twice for Ohatchee High’s JSU Hall of Fame.
Heather said she keeps up with a number of her students through the years.
“I love to see them, to have them contact me so that I can find out what they’re doing with their lives,” she said. “I¹m always so proud of them.”
For the past few years Heather has taught computer classes she named Community and Technology. The classes are taught at night at Ohatchee High. The classes start in November and end in January.
The C.A.T classes are free and include Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Heather was born and reared in Gadsden. Her mother, Jennifer Graves, still lives there. Her father, Olen Graves, lives in Millbrook.
She came to Jacksonville to attend JSU, met her husband Mark and has lived here ever since.
They dated three years and both finished JSU before they married. They have been married 14 years now and reside in the Pleasant Valley community. They have been attending First Baptist Church of Williams.
Mark builds houses and is a member of the Calhoun County Homebuilders Association.
Heather enjoys reading, traveling and being outdoors.
“Nora Roberts is absolutely my favorite author,” said Heather. “I¹ve been reading her for 10 years now. I love The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.
“It’s written more for teens. My students started reading these big books of 500 plus pages so I thought a book that long that has my students reading must be good. I started reading the long vampire/werewolf books so I could talk to my students about them. The books were so good I’ve read all of them in the series.”
Heather said that cooking is not at the top of the list of her priorities, although she does enjoy it and has some special recipes that were handed down by family members, her mother and her late grandmother, Mildred Shrum, the two women who taught her how to cook.
“Our big thing is cooking out,” she said. “That's like our date night when Mark and I cook on the grill.”
Heather said that at any family function, she is usually in charge of the sweets.
She shares some of her favorite recipes, including her mother’s Potato Soup and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies and her aunt Celia Almaroad’s Chicken Spaghetti.
JENNIFER’S POTATO SOUP
5 lbs. red potatoes chopped in cubes
2 cans chicken broth
Boil until potatoes are tender.
1 can cream of celery soap
1 can cream of onion soap
1 can water
Add to potatoes and cook 10 minutes.
8 oz. sour cream
1 pint half and half
Add to mixture and cook 10 minutes.
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
Melt in soup.
Serve with cheddar cheese and cornbread
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
Cook and drain noodles. Cook chicken and tear apart. Mix the following:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. sour cream
Add milk until creamy. Place noodles in casserole pan. Layer chicken and mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until casserole is hot. Add cheese of your choice.
PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
½ cup milk
1 stick of butter
Boil 1 minute
Add ½ cup peanut butter mix until melted.
Add 3 cups oatmeal mix.
Drop onto aluminum foil, let cool.
PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 ½ cups peanut butter
1 7 oz jar marshmallow crème
In a saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil; boil for three minutes. Add peanut butter and marshmallow crème; mix well. Quickly pour into a buttered 8 inch square pan; chill until set. Cut into squares.
Yield 3-4 dozen.
