Medford Area School District honors this year’s retirees

The Medford Area Public School District (MAPSD) honored recent retirees during a banquet held May 18 at Centennial Community Center in Stetsonville.

In 2022, MAPSD had the following 16 retirees who combined had 372 years of service to the district but well over 400 years in education. Of the retirees, 10 attended the banquet to receive their plaques from the Department of Public Instruction and a clock hand-made by retired educator Bruce Pawlowicz.

Retirees for 2022 Peggy Czerniak - 18 years, William Dallas - 38 years, Mary Fliehs - 36 years, Nancy Higgins - 24 years, Cassandra Jablonsky - 12 years, Jackie Kramer Strick — 24 years, Susan Laher - 36 years, Pamela Leader - 36 years, Albert Leonard III - 30 years, Jeffrey Neitzel -28 years, Patricia Neitzel - 28 years, Christie Wirz - 35 years, Richard Wirz - 27 years.

Profiles of each of the retirees is as follows: Peggy Czerniak has been in education for 28 years; 18 of those years in Medford. She has worked at MAES, MAMS and SES. She is currently a Kindergarten Teacher at SES. She is married to Mike and they have been married for 36 years. Mike is retired from Blount, Inc. and Sierra Pacific having worked in engineering and as a quality manager. They have one daughter, Amy, who is a product owner at a technology company in Minneapolis and owner of Amy K Photography. Her husband Kevin is Chief Surveyor for the City of St. Paul. They reside in Bloomington, MN with their 19 month old son, Colin. What Peggy likes best about her job is no two days are the same. There is always variety in what she does and in how the students will respond. She will miss the staff and all the stories they share with each other. What Peggy likes the least is that in elementary education, the allergy, cold and flu season seems to go from September to May. What she will miss the least is putting up the showcase, yellow bus rides and the long hours. Her advice to colleagues is that it is easy to get caught up in what we have to plan and organize in advance for our classes. Try to stay focused on what you can do for the students in front of you, one day at a time. Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Remember, the smallest act of kindness is greater than the greatest intentions.” Her number one plan is to spend more time with her family. She will spend more time outdoors and find a warm place to spend some time in the winter. She feels very fortunate to have worked in an environment with a team of professional and dedicated colleagues. Thank you for your support and the great memories!

William Dallas worked in education for 38 years. He worked at MAMS and MASH. He is currently a MASH Social Studies Teacher. Bill has been married to Karen for 36 years. She is a Branch Office Administrator for Edward Jones. She is also a retired teacher of 32 years in the district. They have three children. Sarah is an Occupational Therapy Assistant in Middleton, WI. Megan is a Speech and Language Pathologist in White Bear Lake, MN. Sam is a General Manager of a Theatre Production Company in New York City, NY. What Bill likes best about his job is the relationships he developed. His department was the best in the district! What he will miss the most is all those knuckle-heads in his department. His advice to colleagues is you have the most important job in the world. Don’t ever forget it! His retirement plans - he will figure that out as he goes. It’s been a hell of a ride!

Mary Fliehs has been in education for 36 years. She worked at MAES and SES. She is currently a K-1 Reading Interventionist. She is married to Dan and they celebrated 35 years of marriage this past March. Dan spent most of his career in road construction. He has been retired for the past year. They have three children. Angelena Voland, lives in Green Bay with her husband, Justin, and their two boys: Everett (3) and Conrad (1). She followed in mom’s footsteps and has a degree in Elementary Education. She taught 3 years in Crivitz and is currently completing her 7th year as a 4th grade teacher in Luxemburg-Casco. Patrick, lives in Eau Claire. He served four years in the Navy and currently works for Safran, a company out of Minneapolis. He is a field service technician and installs equipment for jet engine testing facilities. Patrick loves to travel, so this job has been a good fit as he finds himself in many places, both within the United States and abroad. David also lives in Eau Claire. He is completing his lineman apprenticeship through The MO Valley Trade School in Indianola, Iowa. He is currently working in Kansas City, MO. He is very excited to be finishing his apprenticeship which will then allow him to be able to choose his future work locations. My favorite part of working in an elementary school is the children. They are so full of joy, excitement and surprises! Every day is different and is so rewarding to watch the growth they make, both academically as well as developmentally, from the beginning of the school year to the end. She will miss the connections she made with students, coworkers and families. It already feels strange as she is beginning to know less staff working in the district. She also really enjoys running into current or former students when out in the community. It will be a sad day when she no longer has elementary school-age children shouting out a greeting to her in a public place! Her least favorite job is proctoring the weekly Progress Monitoring with students. The number of children that need to be monitored grows weekly and it’s difficult to find the time to administer the assessments. She will not miss being pulled out of her own role as a Reading Interventionist to substitute teach in other classrooms. This happened more frequently in the last few years due to a shortage of substitute teachers. Even though our jobs can become hectic and frustrating at times, try to stay focused on the reason you chose this career in the first place. The majority of you are in this profession because of the kids. A quote by Berta Lippert is posted in my classroom and try to refl ect on it frequently: “No Matter What Happens, My Kids Come First. It’s That Simple.” Retirement plans are to spend more time with family and friends. They are looking forward to the flexibility of their time that will allow them to visit their grandchildren more often.