By: Corey Bunce

     Mr. Tommy Smith is a Custodian who has been working at Eisenhower for many years, who now leaves us for his well-deserved retirement from his job. Tommy is known by many students and staff as our head custodian who has taken the lead at Eisenhower, working hard keeping the school clean and organized, as well as running the whole school smoothly.

     Stepping in Smith’s place as head custodian at Eisenhower is Mr. Brian Fedorchuk, who has a lot of experience in the district and has spent time working at Eisenhower in the past. The Squire decided to interview a few custodians about Smith’s retirement and the challenges of moving forward without him.

     While head custodian, Smith kept a smile on his face even while dealing with the many tough on the job challenges. His fellow custodians shared with The Squire that the most difficult challenge was probably the vandalism that got increasingly bad in some of the bathrooms. Sometimes it led to closing off the bathrooms and extra time cleaning. Smith likely will not miss those moments, as he heads for retirement.

     Knowing that he was planning to leave in February, the school helped prepare for his absence. They hired Mr. Fedorchuk as the new head custodian and Smith helped train Fedorchuk and the other custodians so that they felt prepared for the job. As they explained, he helped show them how to use the machines, especially the new automatic floor buffer, and walked them through the day-to-day schedule.

     Smith trained the custodial staff well, as things have been running smoothly with the new leadership. As the staff shared with The Squire, Smith is no longer here, but his legacy remains as they move through their day-to-day routines just as they did when he was here even without him.

The Squire would like to wish Smith farewell and thank him for working here for so long, keeping the school clean, and impacting the whole school in many ways. Additionally, welcome and good luck to Mr. Fedorchuk as he takes his place.