During the May 10 meeting of the Dawson County Board of Education, board members took the time to honor and recognize several retiring educators and administrators, including the district’s outgoing superintendent Damon Gibbs. 

At the beginning of the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Operations Hershel Bennett called each of the retirees up to the front of the room, thanking them for their hard work for the school system and congratulating them on their retirement. 

“The 21 people in the room with the biggest smiles are our retirees for FY22,” Bennett said. 

Each retiree was presented with an award honoring their dedication throughout their career, and all of the students, parents and educators in the audience applauded for them. 

The school system’s retirees for the 2021-22 school year are: 

• From Black’s Mill Elementary School: Kelley Reeves. 

• From Kilough Elementary School: Sandra Tankersley and Angela Howard. 

• From Riverview Elementary School: Debbie Tauber. 

• From Robinson Elementary School: Lance Stiffler and Kim Anderson. 

• From Dawson County Middle School: Tammi Edwards, Josh Carpenter, Renee Rogers and Kim Fleming. 

• From Dawson County Junior High School: Kevan Richardson and Lidia Simonds. 

• From Dawson County High School: Stefanie Gibbs, Cherie Ferguson and Glenda Brandt. 

• From the Dawson County Schools central office: Corby Ledford, Jamie Ulrich, Tracey Compton, Jim Rich, Terri Wallace and Damon Gibbs. 

During his superintendent’s report at the end of the board meeting, Gibbs took a moment to reminisce on his time as superintendent and to thank the board for all their hard work and support during his time in the district. 

“I’ve been very emotional for a couple of weeks, and let me tell you that emotion is not from being sad; it’s actually from being proud of the work that you’ve done,” Gibbs said. 

Gibbs read a statement he had written encompassing his final thoughts, prompting tears from many of the board members and the school administrators in the audience. He recalled a call he had received from Roger Slaton eight years ago, asking him if he would take on the position of the Dawson County Schools superintendent, and how Slaton, along with the other board members and all of the staff and administrators, had welcomed him into the community with open arms. 

“Over the past eight years I could not have imagined a better opportunity to make a difference; this board has allowed me to get out of the box and do whatever it took to meet the needs of our children,” Gibbs read in his statement. “Your support has been unwavering even during the most difficult of circumstances.”

Gibbs finished his remarks by saying that he wishes all the best for the district as he moves into his retirement, passing the baton to incoming superintendent Nicole Lecave. 

“I pray that God will continue to bless our 1Dawson team; we never know what tomorrow will bring but together we can overcome anything,” Gibbs said. “And I would argue that this is not a goodbye; it’s a see you later.” 

Following Gibbs’ statements, Board Member Karen Armstrong spoke on behalf of the board, presenting Gibbs with a gift and thanking him for his hard work over the past eight years. 

“We wanted to get you just a little something from us… it’s not a million dollars but there’s a million dollars worth of love in here for you,” Armstrong said to Gibbs. “We appreciate you; not only our school system but us as well and the children.”