COUNTY -- The Shelby County Mother's Association has selected Cindy Burchett of Harlan as the 2009 Shelby County Mother of the Year and Tara Lansman of Harlan as the 2009 Shelby County Young Mother of the Year.

Cindy Burchett...
      A Harlan native, Burchett is the daughter of the late Clay and Margaret Pauley, who were Harlan residents.
      She and her husband, Rick, were married in 1968. The couple has three children: daughter, Sara and husband, Tom Wilson, Minneapolis, Minn.; son, Ryan and wife, Monica, Bettendorf; and son, Garrett and his fiancee, Erin Byrne, Richardson, Texas.
      The Burchetts have four grandchildren: Zach and Josie Wilson and Maggie and Ann Burchett.
      A 1964 graduate of Harlan Community High School, Burchett earned a degree in elementary and special education from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1968. She was awarded a master's degree in elementary administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1992.
      From 1987-1992 Burchett was the media specialist and special education coordinator at New Park Elementary School. She served as elementary principal and special education coordinator for the Harlan Community Schools from 1992-2007.
      Burchett has been involved in many community activities including Concerned Foundation Board, P.E.O., MMC Wellness Center Fund Drive Committee, instructor for online course for Loess Hills Area Education Agency, Harlan Community Library Board, Nishnabotna Girl Scout Council Board, Shelby County Health Foundation, Shelby County Chamber Board and Time for Tots Board.
      Her honors have included Chamber of Commerce Leadership Award, Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year and Southwest Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year.
      The Burchetts are members of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Harlan.

Tara Lansman...      
      A native of South Dakota, Lansman is the daughter of Darwin and LaVila Tessier, Yankton, S.D.
      She married Howard Lansman in 1988. The couple has four children: Luke, 17, a junior at Harlan Community High School; Seth, 15, a freshman at Harlan Community High School; Trey, 13, a seventh grader at Harlan Community Middle School; and Will, 11, a fifth grader at West Ridge Elementary School.
      She is a 1984 graduate of Pierre High School and a 1988 graduate of South Dakota State University where she received a bachelor of arts degree in English.
      In 1989, she earned a master's degree in secondary education from Bowling Green State University, Bowling, Green, Ohio.
      Lansman is an English teacher and yearbook sponsor at the Harlan Community High School.
      Her family attends First Baptist Church in Harlan where she and her husband help teach Sunday School and high school BYF.