At the beginning of this school year, Futral Road Elementary Media Specialist Leslie Benefield was named the Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) Media Specialist of the Year. It was recently announced that she has been selected as the 2025 South Metro Georgia Regional Library Media Specialist of the Year! With this honor, Mrs. Benefield is now being considered alongside other regional winners for the Georgia Library Media Specialist of the Year award, to be announced June 16, at the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA) Summer Institute in Savannah.
The Georgia School Library Media Specialist of the Year (LMSOTY) award recognizes K-12 library media specialists with dynamic, innovative programs and whose instructional collaborations foster student engagement and achievement.
Benefield has been in education for 23 years, with 12 of them serving as the Futral Road Elementary Media Specialist. She was named Futral Road’s Teacher of the Year in 2009 and has been named GSCS Media Specialist of the Year in 2015 and 2024. She encourages and promotes literacy through multiple library events such as book character days, Accelerated Reader programs, World Read Aloud Day, book fairs and many more. Benefield also serves as the Reading Bowl coach, drama team coach, Literacy Days coordinator, Spelling Bee coordinator, yearbook editor and school communication ambassador.
Benefield received her associate degree in Liberal Arts from Young Harris College, her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts in History from the University of Georgia and her master’s and specialist degrees in School Library Media from the University of West Georgia.
Benefield stated, “I am so honored to be the South Metro Regional Media Specialist of the year. The past 12 years as Futral Road's Media Specialist have been amazing. My favorite thing as a media specialist is to instill a love of reading in our students' hearts. All year long, we have incentives, contests, parties, prizes and awards to accomplish this goal. Futral Road's Media Center is a wonderful place to be a kid and find a passion for reading!”
Futral Road Elementary Principal Ben Steele stated, "I couldn't be prouder of Mrs. Benefield. Everything she does, she does with excellence! This accolade is well deserved and an honor for Futral, the system and most importantly her!"
“Leslie’s passion for literacy, innovation, and student success shines through in everything she does. This recognition is a true reflection of her impact on our school community,” stated GSCS Instructional Technology Specialist Tabatha Schwanbeck.