At the December meeting, the Elizabethton Board of Education publicly recognized student athletes and career-technical winners from across the district.

Director Van Huss opened the special-recognition segment and asked coaches and staff to join the board. "On behalf of the TA Duggar football program, thank you for this recognition," coach Pittman said, and described a season in which the program played 16 games (8 junior varsity, 8 varsity) and recorded a winning mark across those contests. Pittman praised student growth, teamwork and classroom performance, and thanked coaching staff, parents and administrators for support.

School staff also read honors for middle-school cross-country standouts. The middle-school program's Reese Emmert qualified for state meets in Clarksville and Knoxville and recorded a two-mile personal best reported as 12:32, about 20 seconds shy of the school record. Alice Hackett, identified as an eighth grader, qualified for state with a two-mile time reported at 14:49.

High-school coach Campbell told trustees the boys' squad advanced to state after a fourth-place regional finish and improved from a pre-state ranking of 20th to a 17th-place finish at state. The team's top performer was reported at 17:23 for the state race; Campbell highlighted individual personal-record improvements and the role of senior leaders in the team's success.

Coach Meyer outlined the girls soccer program's run to the state tournament, noting the team secured a substate win on penalty kicks to qualify. "They went out and they won their penalty kicks, and that won them a bid to the state tournament," Meyer said, and the coach named several players who earned all-region and all-state honors, including Izzy Lewis on the all-state team.

Administrators also presented career and technical education awards. Dr. Copen (CTE lead) summarized the district's performance at the CSI competition and SkillsUSA events, noting Elizabethton students won six of 12 CSI event categories and listed individual winners, such as Taylor Pennicks (autopsy exam) and Rachel Swain (law exam). Dr. Copen thanked the hosting partner TCAT and judges from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement.

The recognitions segment included additional notices about a student-led refurbishment of a digital sign and an "all-city" elementary cross-country series that produced multiple qualifiers for the elementary state meet.

The board took no formal votes on recognitions; trustees invited those honored forward for photographs and moved on to the remainder of the agenda.