A school district employee who was indispensable in bringing the Sea to Sky School District into the 21st century will retire in December, announced school board chair Dave Walden last week.
"On behalf of the board of education we congratulate Nancy Edwards on a job well done and wish her the best for a long and happy retirement," he said. "We will miss her deeply!"
After 36 years of service, Edwards leaves saying she feels lucky for having had such a satisfying career.
"I have found my work life to be very rewarding," she said. "I've loved meeting so many different people and recognize that I am lucky to have had the opportunity to have led such a rich work life.
"Over the years I have formed many friendships with the people I work with and I will miss the daily contact, the camaraderie and the feeling of working together to accomplish a project."
Walden said Edwards's "steady and reliable" service - 20 as the secretary-treasurer - was instrumental in seeing the district through the transition from a time of handwriting journal entries to an automated computer accounting system.
"While we are very happy for Ms. Edwards as she moves to the next phase of her life," he said, "we know that we are losing a very dedicated and valued employee whose knowledge, experience and history in the school district can not be replaced."
She also played a crucial role in the district's growth, which in her time saw the addition of six schools, hundreds of additional staff members - including elementary school counsellors, speech pathologists and numerous new district positions - and she helped develop a long term capital projects plan, managing building projects with a budget that would increase tenfold, from $3.1 million to $37 million.
"At one point in the 1990s we had about $50 million in school construction - more per capita funding than any other school district in the province," she said.
Edwards began her foray into the area's schools as an elementary and high school student in Pemberton. Little did she know her entire adult life would be dedicated to improving the educational experience of corridor students.
After attending business college, she first found employment with the school district in 1973, working in various clerical and accounting positions while completing her Certified General Accountants (CGA) degree.
In 1981 Edwards received the CGA Gold Medal for the highest marks in Canada, and was also appointed to the position of director of finance for the school district.
In 1984, Edwards went through the monumental task of establishing a computerized accounting/payroll system after the province changed reporting requirements. She calls it one of the most satisfying projects of her career.
"Our first computer system was 32 MB!" she said. "This was a big project - lots of late nights and weekends - but it was extremely satisfying to have it completed and up and running, particularly when we started the project there was no one in the office who had any exposure to computers at that time."
In 1985 Edwards was promoted to the position of assistant secretary-treasurer working under the direction of Don Ross, then secretary-treasurer.
She said Ross, whose 36 years in the position is still the province's longest serving secretary-treasurer, was the most influential and memorable person of her career -"hands down."
"Don was a very smart, compassionate and humble person," said Edwards. "He was open to what others brought to the table, and this resulted in a very human and effective approach to district operations. He was a very special human being and I learned so much from watching him work."
By all accounts, Edwards herself adopted Ross's admirable leadership style.
"She has always conducted herself in a very professional and knowledgeable manner earning the respect of the board, coworkers, employees, union leaders, and community members as she strived to ensure that the support services were there for students," said Walden.
When Ross retired in 1989, Edwards was appointed secretary-treasurer, and has since been instrumental in overseeing an operation that now includes 14 schools, over 4,000 students, 258 teachers and significant changes in school district responsibilities and budgeting authority.
Some of these changes - such as the removal of school rate tax authority - resulted in further challenges for meeting student needs. In the 1980s, boards were told they must set their budget within a block funding amount, which today totals $37 million. A collaborative approach with site-based school management has helped prioritize needs, said Edwards.
"There is still a challenge to try and ensure that as many dollars as possible are allocated to schools to keep funding flowing to directly benefit students, but I think we have made good progress on allocating funding in an appropriate and collaborative manner," she said.
The district is also routinely challenged with unavoidable interruptions -such as road closures, floods and long term power outages - as well as employee negotiations in a time of limited funding, said Edwards. But keeping things in perspective ensures issues are always worked out.
"I find that most people are very willing to try and make things work for the benefit of students - if we keep that as our focus it is highly likely that things will work out," she said.
Edwards makes no bones about why she decided to retire: "My age!"
She said she's looking forward to joining her husband in his retirement, which began 12 years ago.
She said she may miss the "energizing" workaday world, but she has every intention of being active.
"I am involved with the community and I intend to continue with this. Initially however, I plan to relax and reflect and decide from there. I do intend to spend a lot more time enjoying the outdoors and spending time with my family, including lots of visits to my many siblings and their families," she said, adding with a laugh: "I haven't warned them yet!"
