Grocer recognized for years of community service

Photos by Tom Rivers – Jerome Pawlak, left, accepts a Paul Harris Fellow Award from Albion Rotarian Nathan Lyman at the end of today’s Albion Rotary Club Golf Tournament.

ALBION Jerome Pawlak and his family have accumulated a half century of service to Orleans County. Today, the Albion Rotary Club honored Pawlak with a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest honor the club can give.

Pawlak isn’t a member of the Rotary Club, but his decades of good works are noticed and appreciated, said Albion Rotarian Nathan Lyman, who presented Pawlak with the club’s award at the end of today’s golf tournament.

Pawlak runs a grocery store, video station and beverage center in Albion. Last year he opened a grocery store in Holley after the community there was without a grocery store for about five years.

Pawlak has donated his time serving on the boards of the Orleans Economic Development Agency, Chamber of Commerce, and United Way. He is the current vice president of the Albion Main Street Alliance.

Jerome Pawlak is pictured with one of his hole sponsor signs at today’s Albion Rotary Club Golf Tournament. Pawlak supports numerous community organizations.

He donates to numerous community causes and organizations. The Albion club will give $1,000 to Rotary International for the organization’s humanitarian work.

(I was part of Pawlak’s team in today’s golf tournament. Jerome is a good athlete. He also has been active at Notre Dame High School in Batavia, serving on the school’s board of trustees.)

Today’s golf tournament likely raised about $5,000 to help fund scholarships and other community projects, said Cindy Perry, the club president. There were 72 golfers at Hickory Ridge in Holley for the tournament.

“We figured we’d have some fun and raise some money,” Perry said.

The Rotary Club lost one of its most spirited members with the July 13 death of Erling Maine, who owned a hardware store, lumberyard and a car wash in Albion for many years. He was in the Rotary Club for 48 years.

Erling, 75, was an enthusiastic member of the club, and often led Rotarians in singing at their weekly meetings on Thursdays.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Ryan Castrechino heads to the stage to get his diploma with some enthusiastic support from his classmates.

Eboni Taylor accepts her diploma from Margy Brown, the Board of Education president.

Alan Quintana Aragon gives a thumbs up to Principal Leslie Stauss during graduation.

ALBION – The Class of 2013 left a record of accomplishment and service at Albion, Board of Education President Margy Brown told about 2,000 people during commencement this evening in the high school gym.

The 158 graduates earned 800 college credits, passed 156 Advanced Placement courses, completed 29 vocational programs and amassed an impressive record out of the classroom. Students completed 9,000 community service hours, won 16 League titles in sports, 5 Sectional crowns and 27 awards through the musical program.

Brown told them that success is often not clearly defined in life. “Define success for yourself,” she said.

The graduates were addressed by Class President Joyce LaLonde, Salutatorian Alison O’Hearn and Valedictorian Michael Patterson.

Class President Joyce LaLonde addresses a crowd of about 2,000 in the high school gym.

LaLonde urged her classmates to spread their wings and go and do great things in the world. However, they should keep perspective and not rush to judgments about others.

She referred to eight giant crayons that line the entrance of the elementary school. She said her classmates would do well to live by the principles on those crayons: perseverance, optimism, honesty, respect, compassion, integrity, responsibility and loyalty.

Salutatorian Alison O’Hearn urged her classmates to seize opportunities.

O’Hearn told the graduates that every day is full of opportunities to do the right thing and make a difference. Graduation represents a new opportunity “to recreate yourself and to be who you always wanted to be.” She thanked teachers, parents and other student supporters “for helping to create opportunities for the Class of 2013.”

Patterson said the experiences shared by the class will be keep the group bonded forever. Those connections can stay strong in a world of Smart Phones, social media and the Internet.

Valedictorian Michael Patterson urged the class to stay connected and united, while using their freedoms to make a difference in the world.

The graduates share a hometown that gave them a strong foundation for the future, Patterson said.

“The world ahead of us is incredibly exciting,” he said. “When we leave this building we’ll have the freedom and power to determine our future.”

The senior chorus sings the National Anthem at the beginning of the graduation program.

Marquise Riddick walks to the stage to receive his diploma.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Allen Sanford has turned an old hay wagon into a mobile performing arts stage as part of his Eagle Scout service project.

ALBION – Allen Sanford and his band, Route 98, have played on lawns and makeshift stages in Albion.

Sanford, 17, is grateful for the gigs, but he wants to give musicians a better showcase for their talents. He has spent the past 18 months researching, designing and building a mobile performing arts stage.

Sanford has transformed a 16-by-8-foot hay wagon into a 28-by-8-foot mobile stage. He’s nearly done and will soon turn it over to the village of Albion, which can use it for concerts downtown, at Bullard Park and other locations in the community.

“It’s to advance music in the community,” Sanford said this evening while overseeing some finishing construction work on the stage.

Sanford chose the stage for his Eagle Scout service project. He designed the plans using a CAD program. He connected with donors for the project, met with village officials, and mobilized teams of Scouts and friends to build the stage.

Allen Sanford recruited his friends Charlene Olick, left, and Amber Smarpat to help build the stage that will be given to the village of Albion.

“I saved and recycled as much as I could without jeopardizing the integrity of the stage,” Sanford said. “Part of being a Boy Scout is being thrifty.”

He found used parts and cleaned them, for some pieces of the project. He negotiated a deal on wood from Stockham Lumber, and then sized and stained the material.

Sanford will graduate next week from Albion High School. He will study physics and engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. The project let him put his engineering and leadership skills to use.

A member of Troop 60 that meets at the First Presbyterian Church, Sanford said Scouting has been a critical program for him, teaching many life skills. He has spent three years on the National Youth Leadership Training program through Scouts, and has worked on the staff at Camp Dittmer.

“Becoming an Eagle Scout is such an honor,” he said. “I have learned so much through the Scouting program.”

Mary Miesner has taught hundreds of second-graders

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mary Miesner reacts after being named Albion’s ‘Educator of the Year’ for the 2012-13 school year. Miesner has been teaching in the district for 40 years. Margy Brown, BOE president, is at right.

ALBION – A teacher with 40 years of service to elementary school students, beginning at the former Waterport Elementary School, was honored tonight as Albion’s 2012-13 “Educator of the Year.”

Mary Miesner was praised for mentoring other teachers and showing so much dedication to her students, about 1,000 different kids over her career. She is retiring later this month.

Elementary School Principal Jim Wood called her “an outstanding team player.” Miesner has been nominated for the award several times over her career.

“She personifies respect, responsibility and optimism,” Margy Brown, the Board of Education president, said about Miesner and the district’s three guiding principles.

Miesner has welcomed firefighters into her classroom and the school to teach students about fire prevention and safety. Her son Lee is active with the Albion Fire Department.

Before she was named ‘Educator of the Year,’ Mary Miesner was recognized for her impending retirement by Elementary School Principal Jim Wood, left, and Michael Bonnewell, the district’s superintendent.

Wood said Miesner has been a quiet leader, and a dependable teacher for her entire career.

“I’m the luckiest person,” Miesner said after receiving the award. “I’ve had a job I love for 40 years. Every year is a new start, a chance to broaden your horizons.”

Miesner considered retiring about three years ago. Her husband Ron was battling cancer. He urged her to keep working. He died in October 2010.

Miesner said she immersed herself in her job after her husband’s death.

“I needed the students,” she said.

She praised her co-workers, who refer to her as the “den mother” of the second grade teachers. Miesner taught second grade her entire career, except for the year she was acting principal at Waterport, a year she also taught fifth grade.

Three other former Waterport staff also are retiring after this school year. Kim Houserman was principal at Waterport, beginning in 1985, before moving to the middle school. Houserman worked 39 years in education, including the past 28 years at Albion in administration. Houserman said he has enjoyed a career mostly in the middle school, which he said “is full of energy and excitement.”

The following retiring teachers and staff were recognized by the Board of Education on Monday for the service to the district. The group includes, from left: Cathy Schwenk, Mary Ellen Gillard, Darlene Devine, Gail Nasca, Dan Shuler, Kim Houserman, Mary Miesner and Bonnie Adduci.

Darlene Devine, a music and art teacher, is retiring after 26 years at Albion. She also started in the Waterport school, which closed in 1989.

Cathy Schwenk, a special education teacher, is retiring after 33 years. She also worked in Waterport.

Miesner, Houserman, Devine and Schwenk are the last links to the school among the current staff.

“We can now say the Waterport school is officially closed,” Houserman said tonight at a reception for retiring teachers and others with milestone service anniversaries.

The district honored other retiring staff, including Dan Shuler who has worked 35 years with Buildings and Grounds, including 31 years as superintendent. He has been influential in a maintaining a beautiful, well-kept campus that is the envy of many other schools, said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent.

Gail Nasca is retiring after 18 years as a middle school English teacher. Mary Ellen Gillard is ending her career. She served in several roles in the past 11 years, including Even Start director, a third grade teacher and academic intervention service teacher. Bonnie Adduci also is retiring after six years as a nurse in the elementary school.