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Photos by Burrill Strong
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Ron Mead, with wife Marilyn (right), greeted well-wishers on May 28 during an open house to wish the CHS principal good luck on his retirement.
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Ron Mead and his wife Marilyn stood at the head of the reception line, accepting handshakes and congratulations from a seemingly endless queue of well-wishers.
Something else that was seemingly endless were the sentiments of perhaps 200 people who had come to the Chelsea High School commons on May 28 for an open house to bid farewell to Mead, the school principal of 19 years.
"This is about saying goodbye to someone who meant a lot to the community," said Julie Deppner, who will move up from her assistant principal role and move into Mead's office when the school year begins in July.
"I keep hearing that Ron's left big shoes to fill, and I would say nobody knows that better than I," Deppner added.
A slide show of photos and news clippings detailing Mead's tenure was projected continuously on a large screen, while musical entertainment was provided by high school seniors Megan Emberton on piano and vocalist Jillian Heinrichs.
Guests enjoyed a long buffet table packed with hors d'oeuvres and desserts provided by a number of businesses and community organizations: Silver Maples, Covenant Church, St. Mary Catholic Church, St. Mary Youth Group, Polly's Country Market, ZouZou's, Thompson's Pizzeria, the Common Grill, and The Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.
Along one wall stood a large billboard filled with handwritten sentiments from students.
"I love that I got to have Mr. Mead for four years; I also got to know Mrs. Deppner, the assistant principal," Heinrichs said.
"We'll certainly miss him."
Conversations around the room took that same vein, regardless of peoples' involvement with the school district.
"Today was an anxiety moment; it kind of sunk in on us," said Teresa Zigman, the district's Director of Finance.
"You wonder what tomorrow will hold, but we have lots of good people - we'll be OK."
School Board President Laurel McDevitt said Mead had "done wonderful things for the district."
"He will be missed," she said. "We are sad to see him go, but he's getting some much-deserved time off."
"Howdy" Holmes, president of Chelsea Milling Co., agreed with McDevitt.
"He's going to be sorely missed, of that I'm certain," Holmes said. "He's a wonderful leader; just a nice man."
School Board Vice President Steve Olsen tried to imagine the thoughts going through Mead's mind at the moment.
"If I was standing in Ron's place, I'd be ambivalent — happy I'm leaving, but at the same time sad that I'm leaving," Olsen said.
"It's part of the change in the journey of life. He's done such a good job and made so many friends, it's incredible."
Members of the community shared their sentiments as well.
Dave Pruess said he has known Mead for many years and is impressed with his commitment to the school.
"Ron's a great guy; it'll be really tough to replace him," Pruess said.
"At every school event he's here working hard - that's a lot of dedication."
Marilyn Mead, who met Ron in college and has been at his side throughout his entire career in education, beamed with pride at the stream of praise she was witnessing.
"We'll be married 36 years in August," she said. "I'm really proud of him; it's really heartening to see that all the time he's put in has been appreciated."
According to Deppner, the open house was put together by a committee of school staff and community volunteers, including herself, Mary Ann Sprague, Steve Hinz, Karen Allen, Marie Lombardo, Mary Lou Han-Setta and Sandy Inman.
She said Mead has been a great mentor to her, but she was ready for this next step in her own career.
"I have his mentorship and I also have my own ideas and experience as well," Deppner said
"But I have Ron on speed dial if I need him."
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