GEORGETOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) — Students, staff, and community members at Great Crossing High School gathered to pull off the surprise of a lifetime for their welding and manufacturing teacher, Wylie Messer.

During the ceremony, Messer was announced as one of just 25 winners of the 2025 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, selected from over 1,000 applicants nationwide.

Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is awarding a total of $1.5 million in 2025.

Messer’s prize comes with $50,000—$35,000 going to Great Crossing’s skilled trades program and $15,000 awarded directly into his own pockets.

As the school band played and applause filled the gymnasium, Messer walked into a surprise assembly to find his family, Kentucky officials, and both past and present students waitin

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