As the school year quickly approaches, teacher and administrators across Callaway County were honored Wednesday morning.

The brunch was hosted by the Callaway Chamber of Commerce at William Woods University.

Raffles and prizes were given out to help teachers stock their classrooms.

Event director Tamara Tateosian said the brunch was a wonderful opportunity to show gratitude before the start of the school year.

"It's great to see so many people here today," Tateosian said. "The event has grown so much over the last five years and we are happy here at the chamber to honor the teachers that came today."

Tateosian estimated that roughly 550 teachers and administrators showed up to the event.

Fulton Middle School teacher Cami Webb was one of those teachers.

"This is the one opportunity where it's not just you with your school, but you get to see cohorts, and other teachers from all the schools in the county," Webb said. "It's nice when you have so many businesses and so much local support to kick your school year off."

Motivational speaker Jeremy Anderson also spoke to the crowd.

Schools represented in the event include Fulton, New Bloomfield, and also North and South Callaway.

From state officials to local business owners, a wide range of people showed their thanks.

"Our teachers do so much," Tateosian said. "A lot of effort went into planning today's event and we hope it showed."