Cathy Lynch, an employee in the Kent School District’s transportation Department, recently received the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Terry Hoffer award for her contributions as a hunter education instructor.

Lynch certified 14 new volunteer hunter education instructors and approximately 500 students – more than 15 percent of the students in the north Puget Sound region in 2016, according to a media release from the Kent School District.

“Cathy is incredibly effective at finding ways to improve the team’s teaching methods,” Steve Dazey, a hunter education and volunteer coordinator with WDFW, said in the release. “She always goes above and beyond, is there when we most need her and she takes the extra time to ensure young students get the most out of the courses.”

The award honors Wildlife Agent Terry Hoffer, who was fatally wounded by a hunter accidentally discharging his firearm in 1984.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recognized the contributions of top volunteers during its 2017 citizen awards ceremony in Olympia.

Lynch was also named WDFW’s Citizen Educator of the Year in 2015.