Ivaylovgrad mayor Diana Ovcharova met Aleksandra Horozova, long-time head of the Hristo Botev secondary school, in the days before National Revivalists' Day on 1 November, the municipality said. She wanted to show her respect and thank her for her work in education.

The meeting is one in a series of personal visits the mayor is making to residents who have left a mark on education, culture and spiritual life in Ivaylovgrad. The series is called "The Revivalists of Ivaylovgrad".

Horozova ran the school for almost 28 years and is now starting a new stage in her life. Under her, the school was a place for projects, creative work, performances and partnerships.

It had active student clubs and hosted national and regional education forums. Through its international contacts and successes, the school represented Ivaylovgrad abroad.

Hundreds of children had the chance to show their talents, try science, art and traditions, and take part in charity causes and community projects. They learned compassion and respect by meeting elderly people and people in difficult circumstances, and through health and safety campaigns in which students, teachers and parents worked together.

Horozova received an Honorary Badge of the Regional Education Department in Haskovo for her services to education.

The municipality's post says a place is judged not only by what it has built, but also by the people who gave it their knowledge, talent, character and heart. It says recognition for those who gave a lot to their home town should not stay in words and holiday dates, but should be a living attitude. A revivalist is measured by the mark they leave on other people's lives, not by their job title.

That mark remains in the generations of students, in the teachers Horozova worked with, and in the history of the school. The mayor also shows personal respect for people whose work lives on.

The article says the stories of the revivalists deserve to be told all year round.