At left: Les Cheneaux Elementary School Principal Eric Cardwell (left) and his son, Aiden, age 4, stand with retiring elementary secretary and 2008 Employee of the Year Susie Rutledge. Les Cheneaux Elementary School secretary Susie Rutledge is the district's Employee of the Year.

"She has proven time and time again to be an outstanding, conscientious employee, continuously going the extra mile for our district," said Principal Eric Cardwell at the school board meeting April 21. "Mrs. Rutledge is always there for our students, often offering a needed hug to a student at the perfect time."

"To watch the office, it can be quite chaotic, but Mrs. Rutledge is always steady," he said. "Her 'can do' attitude personifies the type of employees we want to have at Les Cheneaux Community Schools."

Mrs. Rutledge will be honored among other Eastern Upper Peninsula school employees at an Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District meeting Wednesday, May 21, at 6 p.m. at Engadine Consolidated Schools.

Board of education members and superintendents will attend the event to honor each school district's employee of the year.

Mrs. Rutledge is retiring from the district June 30. She has worked at the district 10 years, all in the elementary office. During that time she developed close relationships with students and staff, and said working there has been "like having 160 grandchildren," but the people she works with are the ones she will miss most.

"They are all great friends," she said.

She is leaving because she wants to spend more time with her family. Her son, Andrew and his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Zoe, live on the East Coast, so retiring will give her more time to travel there. Mrs. Rutledge and her husband, Bill plan to golf, travel, visit with friends, and Mrs. Rutledge plans to enjoy more of her hobbies, including gardening, sewing, knitting, and walking.