I was contacted in mid-February by the Director of Creative Services at the Milken Family Foundation to photograph the presentation of the Milken Educator Awards for both Arkansas and Louisiana.

The Milken Educator Awards targets early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future. The award is considered "The Oscars" for educators and each winner in given an award of $25,000. To date, more than 2,600 Awards have been given out, totaling over $65 million.

I am very familiar with this award. When I was a photographer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, I had covered many of these awards. One of the most exciting things about these awards is the winner does not know he or she has won until the big announcement. It's kept a secret from everyone.

You can see the galleries from Arkansas and Louisiana by going here.