Clearview Public Schools held its recognition night at the Castor Community Hall on Wednesday, June 18.
Clearview staff and administrators gathered for food, entertainment, and awards to retirees and staff members who had been with the school division for a significant amount of time.
“We value everyone in the Clearview ‘family’ and our recognition night is one of the ways we can demonstrate this to our employees,” said board chair Ken Checkel.
“We really enjoy spending time with our employees. They are great people and recognition night is one of our favorite events of the year.”
The night also featured entertainment from Rhonda McCulloch Danceology.
There were duets, solos, and group performances, featuring acro, tap, contemporary and musical theatre performances.
The Clearview Award of Merit was also presented at the recognition night. It is not presented annually, but only if a worthy recipient is nominated. This year, it was Cameron Grant, a Stettler grad and former Olympic swimmer. He started swimming when he was seven, and that hobby culminated in him representing Canada in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
“Obviously it’s a very proud moment,” he said. “It’s humbling.” He added that the best thing about growing up in Stettler was how accommodating the school was of athletic schedules.
“Especially in swimming – in my field – the school was very accommodating with time; they let me write exams early or later or hand stuff in later, they work around the sporting schedule,” Grant said.
“So that’s one good thing about Stettler, they were very receptive to sports.”
Clearview also recognized staff members with a certain number of years of service, from five years up to 40 years.
Seven retirees were recognized, ranging from bus drivers to teachers to maintenance.
They were Bob Anderson, Pat Johnson, Scott Listoe, Donna-Marie McKinnon, Joanne Pinder, Judy Robinson, and Guy Walstrom. Each retiree was introduced by a friend who recounted stories about the retiree.
“Whether someone is moving into retirement or moving on to work elsewhere, we always wish them well,” Checkel said. “Sometimes it seems that it will be difficult to replace all their skills and years of experience. But those of us who have been around for a while know that someone else always seems to come along to fill their shoes and help us carry on with renewed energy.”
A chronic microphone malfunction forced emcees Dave Goodwin and Staci Gerlitz to just speak louder, and the rest of the night went smoothly.