JoAnna Crane served Alabama students from her early years teaching French, History and English at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery to chairing the Foreign Language Department at Robert E. Lee High School. She was with the State Department of Education, primarily as Foreign Language Specialist and Curriculum Development Specialist for 36 years. 

When Joanna Crane was recognized by ACTFL in 1999 with the Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education: K-12, she once again proved her dedication to and love for Foreign Language education in Alabama by contributing a portion of her award to establish a scholarship which has now been named in her honor.  The scholarship is for any current or pre-service world language teacher who wishes to improve his/her language skills and cultural knowledge by studying abroad.