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　　“We cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of such an honor．He is a very special individual”, said one of his students．

　　In April 2009, Greg Perry accepted the first annual Heart of Green Local Hero Award, for his work to develop, with his high school students, the Green Dream and the Ultimated Green Classroom．At the time of the awards, he was unsteady, having just been through intense chemotherapy．His work as a teacher is an inspiration, as is his recovery, and his acceptance speech．We’re happy to say that Greg is back in the classroom－which is good th ing for him, for his students and for the wider community．Here’s his story．

　　At the age of 6 he was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident．He was told he would never walk, never play football and never feed himself．He proved the doctors wrong! He can do all these things and much more．His determination continues to thrive．

　　Greg Perry graduated from Ohio State University with a joint degree in marketing and education．To him, the education degree was just a bulwark against the recession, so there are probably few peiole as surprised as Perry that before the age of 40, he would have drawn national attention for his teaching, orchestrated the building of a model classroom and inspired his students to launch the largest green business expo ever staged in Ohio．

　　Perry teaches an innovative high school marketing class in Beachwood, Ohio, a city of about 12,000 in the Cleveland suburbs．Students from several area schools commute to Beachwood High School for a class unlike any other．He has led the class of 18 to create the “ULTIMATE GREEN CLASSROOM”．Under his direction the largest Eco–Friendly Showcase in Ohio was held and approximately $ 150,000 was raised in Green goods and services to build the unbelievable classroom．Elected executive officers help Perry run the class, and for much of the year, the focus is on lining of exhibitors for The Green Dream, the green business expo that is expected to draw more than 6,000 people this Spring．

　　“Sales people are making phone calls to line up exhibitors in the expo．Finance is handling the contracts and payments．Marketing and Communications and Publications and Websites are trying to promote the message．” Perry said．“it’s more like a day at work than a day at the classroom．By doing these large projects, they learn about branding, advertising, management styles and marketing techniques without every picking up the textbooks．”