Medford schools recognize 2020, 2021 retirees

The Medford Area Public School District (MAPSD) honored recent retirees during a banquet held June 3 at Centennial Community Center in Stetsonville.

Due to COVID-19, the annual banquet was postponed last year and the 2020 retirees were recognized at this year’s banquet along with the 2021 retirees.

In 2021, MAPSD had the following 16 retirees who combined had 466 years of service to the district. In 2020 there were 15 retirees with a combined 370 years of service to the district.

Of the retirees, 16 attended the banquet to receive their plaques from the Department of Public Instruction and a hand-made clock from MAPSD.

Retirees from 2021 were: Virgil Berndt – 31 years, Wendy Budimlija – 32 years, Kathleen Budzinski – 16 years, Nikki Clements – 27 years, Marsha Duellman – 31 years, Scott Geisler – 34 years, Linda Gelhaus – 22 years, James Giese — 43 years, Jina Lange – 33 years, Rose Olson – 25 years, Michael Roiger – 25 years, Keva Schult – 27 years, Kathleen Strebig – 31 years, David Vaara – 29 years, Carol Wieman – 35 years and Cheryl Wieting – 25 years.

Retirees from 2020 were: Kristin Anderson - 19 years, Mary Lou Czerniak - 34 years, Donald Everhard - 28 years, Jeanine Gelhaus - 25 years, Kathy Kenyon - 21 years, Judy Mader - 23 years, Brenda Ann McNary - 24 years, Diane Nelson - 33 years, Tammy Ott - 34 years, Charles Prihoda – 16 years, Susan Smith - 21 1/2 years, Nancy Sperl - 29 years, Julie Scott – 19 years, Robin Wernberg - 18 years and Susan Werner - 26 years.

Profiles of each of the retirees is as follows: Kristin Anderson has worked in the district for 19 years. She has worked at SES, MAMS, and MAES and finished her career as a MAES 4th grade teacher. She has been married to her husband, Todd Anderson for 38 years. Todd is a retired military service member currently working as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service. Her oldest daughter Katrina is a wine sales rep and is married to Bob Komanec, who is a fifth grade teacher at MAMS. Katrina and Bob have four children; Brantley, Landree, Finley and Tilly. Her daughter Jessica lives in Milwaukee with her husband Ryan Day. They have a business called “Dandy.” It is a mid-century modern collectible store. They are also a popular wedding venue in Milwaukee. Her son, Tyler also lives in Milwaukee. He is a manager at Outpost Natural Foods. What she liked best about her job was teaching students and knowing she made a difference. She will miss the students the most. She will miss their smiles, their stories, helpfulness, and their kindness to others. She will not miss the long hours. Her advice for colleagues is to always try to keep a smile on your face especially when things are so out of sorts. The kids will take your lead. Her retirement plans are to travel and see her children and grandchildren as often as she can. They also have friends from many different states and countries that they would like to visit.

Virgil Berndt has worked in education for 33 years. He has worked in the dis-trict for 31 years and is currently a MAMS Math Teacher. He has been married to his wife Cindy for 34 years. Cindy is the owner of Cindy’s Bar and Grill. They have three children: Mandy, Tyler, and Samantha and five grandchildren: Sawyer and Savanna Seidl and Gannon, Raya and Carson Fuchs. What he likes best about his job is the kids and the fact that no two days are the same. He will miss the kids and his coworkers the most. His retirement plans are to help Cindy more at the bar and to spend more time in the woods, on the lake and with the grandkids. He is sure to find some part-time jobs, and would like to come sub and continue coaching. “I would like to thank everyone for all the support and help during my 31 years. The many memories and friendships that have been made are priceless.”

Wendy Budimlija has worked in the district for 32 years. She has worked at MASH as an English teacher and is also the Senior Class Advisor, Forensics coach, Graduation Advisor and Yearbook Advisor. She has been married to her husband Randy for 33 years, who is already enjoying retirement. She has four children and five grandchildren. Brandon and Sara live in Rib Lake and have Bo (4), Asher (3) and Lilly (8 months). Ethan and Emily live in Hortonville and have Evie (6 months). Elaina lives in Medford. Carissa and Erik live in Medford and have Tucker (2). She enjoys the connections she has with students and seeing their successes in life after high school. She will truly miss the relationships she has with her students and the fun that she has with her colleagues. She will not miss grading papers and hopes to never have to grade a set of essays again. Her advice to colleagues is no matter how many times or how many years you have taught something, it’s always new to the students. Show them the enthusiasm you had the first time you taught it. She plans to spend a lot of time with her grandchildren in retirement. She and Randy will also spend time working on projects at their cabin and on their home. She is also hoping to get a little more horseback riding in during the fall when the weather is beautiful and the bugs are scarce. “I wish I could join the retirement party, but we’ve had a trip planned for that week for quite a while now.“ Kathleen Budzinski has worked in education for 30 years. She has worked in the district for 16 years. She is currently a MASH English teacher for grades 9, 10 and 11. She was married to her husband Myron Budzinski for 22 1/2 years and he is now deceased. He worked as an over-the-road truck driver for Kraft (Tombstone Division) and Abbyland Trucking. Their two children, Adam and Erika, were adopted at 18 months from the country of Ukraine. Adam graduated from UW-Green Bay on May 15th. He lives with his girlfriend, Erin, and is a systems analyst for America’s Service Line (ASL). Her daughter, Erika, blessed her with her first grandchild, Dylan James born in March 2020. He has helped to fill the hole in my heart left by my husband Myron’s passing. Erika works at Parrett Windows in Dorchester. She lives in Abbotsford with her son and boyfriend Romeo so she gets to see her grandson frequently. She is infinitely proud of her two 21- year old children and 1-year old grandson. They are her blessings and she likes to think her best work. Kathy enjoyed the diversity of her job the most. She will miss Jina Lange’s coffee, Ted Wilson’s help with technology and the people she sees daily—my colleagues and the other people in the building (secretaries, custodians, etc.) that make our world at MASH go ‘round and of course, the students. My advice to colleagues is remind students that you don’t “give” them a grade; rather, they “earn” a grade. Also, don’t for-get about those individuals who help you everyday but don’t often get the recognition they deserve: bus drivers, custodians, various office personnel, food service people, IT workers, etc. Kathy plans to enjoy watch- ing her grandson grow up and see him accomplish all his milestones. Retirement plans include some neglected home improvements, read some books for pleasure and do some traveling. “Thanks to the district for hiring me in a part-time capacity and allowing me to continue to work that way when my children were small. She so appreciates being able to be with them in the mornings as they started school. Thanks for 16 years of employment and treasured memories.”

Nikki Clements has worked in the district for 27 years. She has worked briefly at both MAMS and MASH but has spent most of her time at the District Offi ce. She is currently the Administrative

Kristin Anderson (center) was congratulated by school board president Dave Fleegel (left) and district administrator Pat Sullivan (right).

BRIAN WILSON/THE STAR NEWS

Virgil Berndt (center) was congratulated by school board president Dave Fleegel (left) and district administrator Pat Sullivan (right).

BRIAN WILSON/THE STAR NEWS