Chelan school district recognizes retirees, employees of the year

CHELAN — The school year’s daily rhythms, buses arriving, classrooms filling, hallways humming, are built on people who often work quietly behind the scenes.

On Monday, April 20, the Lake Chelan School District paused those routines to recognize them.

At an all-staff breakfast, the district honored eight retirees whose combined years of service stretch across classrooms, buses, offices and school hallways, and recognized three Employees of the Year selected by their peers.

For some, that service spanned a career.

Mark Anderson, a Chelan High School science teacher, retired after 45 years with the district. Bob Soost, a music teacher at Morgen Owings Elementary, served 25 years. Others, including Kirk Einspahr with 24 years and Transportation Director Tammy Williams with 11, filled roles that kept the district running day to day.

Also recognized among the retirees were custodian Frants Holm-Nielsen, bus driver and mail courier Bill Williams, bus driver Karen Carell, and nurse Donna Sibbers, who served both Chelan Middle School and Chelan High School.

District administrators described the group as having a lasting impact on students and schools, noting that their contributions will not be easily replaced.

Alongside those farewells, the district also recognized employees still in the middle of that work.

This year’s Employees of the Year, Chelan Middle School teacher Jamie Mack, Morgen Owings Elementary daytime custodian Margarito Vieyra, and substitute teacher Tori Sturm, were nominated by coworkers for their impact on students, leadership within their schools, and willingness to go beyond what the job requires.

In total, 53 staff members were nominated by peers and administrators, offering a broader picture of how that work is seen from within the district itself.

The recognition comes at a moment in the school year when much of the focus is on what remains to be done before summer, but the breakfast offered a chance to step back and take stock of the people behind that effort, those who have spent years building it, and those continuing it each day.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media