The annual welcome event for all Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES staff before students return to school had extra meaning this year for multiple reasons.
It was the last staff welcome for retiring Herkimer BOCES District Superintendent Sandra Sherwood after six years at BOCES. It was the first staff welcome for future Herkimer BOCES District Superintendent Donald (D.J.) Shepardson, who will start in October, after Sherwood’s retirement.
It was also the first staff welcome to take place at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center, located on the second floor of the Arc Herkimer Business Park building at 420 E. German St. in Herkimer.
Herkimer BOCES Board of Education President Holly Pullis spoke about all of the transitions taking place this school year – including the Gateway Center, the new district superintendent, capital project work, new students, new staff and more. She thanked staff on behalf of the board.
“It is our goal to provide opportunities for growth for all in our BOCES family,” Pullis said. “We are grateful for your dedication, and I’m excited for the new school year – the new life cycle – to begin.”
About 350 people attended the staff welcome on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Gateway Center. It was the first time since the 2019 staff welcome – due initially to COVID-19 and then space availability issues – that all Herkimer BOCES employees were gathered in one room.
Other portions of the staff welcome included an update from the technology team, a capital project update and recognition of staff for service milestones. Following the welcoming events, employees participated in trainings, planning and other activities as part of a Superintendent’s Conference Day.
Coming and going
At the end of the staff welcome, Sherwood reflected on her six years as Herkimer BOCES district superintendent and played a video featuring photos, notes on highlights of the years and a song that she sang about how “Herkimer BOCES always finds a way.”
“The work we’ve done is so meaningful,” Sherwood said. “We’ve created a lot of opportunities for growth over the last six years.”
Earlier in the event, Sherwood welcome Shepardson to Herkimer BOCES – symbolically passing the torch as she handed him the microphone and shared a hug.
Shepardson, who is finishing out his time as West Canada Valley superintendent, first thanked Sherwood for all that she has done for West Canada Valley and the other Herkimer BOCES component districts and said she has meant so much to all of them.
He then turned his attention to Herkimer BOCES employees and said the work they do is so important to component school district leaders and students. He said the work done at BOCES is “pretty special.”
Shepardson thanked longtime BOCES employees and related to employees who are just joining BOCES this year.
“We’ll learn together and get to know everybody together here,” Shepardson said.
Shepardson said he plans to actively move around the BOCES buildings on a regular basis to interact with people. He said he is looking forward to his first school year at BOCES.
“I’m really excited about it,” he said. “I hope everyone here has a great year, and I’ll be seeing you all soon.”
Gateway Center
Hosting the staff welcome and Superintendent’s Conference Day activities in the Gateway Center was the culmination of many months of work overseen by Herkimer BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services James Picolla.
Herkimer BOCES has already leased part of the third floor of the Arc Herkimer Business Park building at 420 E. German St. in Herkimer from Arc Herkimer for the past several years for the Herkimer BOCES District Office. The addition of the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center to the building’s second floor was planned in coordination with but separately from a $50 million Herkimer BOCES capital project that component district school boards approved in September 2022.
The capital project will involve infrastructure and systems upgrades at the Herkimer BOCES William E. Busacker Complex in Herkimer and the Herkimer BOCES Remington Educational Complex in Ilion. A primary goal of the project is to create more classroom space for students in those buildings, so along with that, other spaces have moved to the new Gateway Center.
The Herkimer BOCES Adult Practical Nursing Program classrooms, labs and offices moved to the Gateway Center. Instructional Support Services offices and the Herkimer BOCES Copy Center moved there as well.
Picolla provided updates about the overall capital project during the staff welcome and summarized the work that will be done over the next few years.
“We’re really excited about it, and when this is done, you’re going to have really outstanding and state-of-the-art facilities,” Picolla said.
The Gateway Center also features a large conference room named the Progress Room where the staff welcome took place, a medium-sized conference room named the Bridge Room where Herkimer BOCES Board of Education meetings now take place and a small conference room named the Collaboration Room.
The names of the Gateway Center and its conference rooms were chosen symbolically – with the “gateway” term having ties to the region and significance in multiple ways including the role Herkimer BOCES plays for students with connecting them to their career paths.
“That’s what we do here,” Sherwood said, while talking about the Gateway Center name during the staff welcome. “We are a gateway, in many ways.”
Recognizing staff
During the staff welcome, employees recognized for reaching milestones for their years of service at Herkimer BOCES received certificates and were greeted by Sherwood, Pullis and union leadership.
The following employees were recognized for reaching the following milestones:
10 years:
- Sarah Hussein
- Julie Moreau
- Meghan Riley
- Erica Rocco
- Robert Smith
20 years:
- Chris Eckstrom
- Gail Smith
25 years:
- Juli Metz
- Lucinda Richards
- Tami Senft
- Cindy Smith
Retiring Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Sandra Sherwood passes a microphone to future Herkimer BOCES District Superintendent Donald “D.J.” Shepardson during the Herkimer BOCES staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center. Sherwood will retire at the end of September, and Shepardson will start in the role in October.
Retiring Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Sandra Sherwood and future Herkimer BOCES District Superintendent Donald “D.J.” Shepardson share a hug during the Herkimer BOCES staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center. Sherwood will retire at the end of September, and Shepardson will start in the role in October.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego administrators and staff fill the Progress Room in the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center for a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES recognized staff for reaching milestones in their years of service at BOCES during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Pictured here, from left, staff who were recognized for 25 years of service: Cindy Smith, Tami Senft and Lucinda Richards. Not pictured but also recognized for 25 years of service was Juli Metz.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES recognized staff for reaching milestones in their years of service at BOCES during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Pictured here, from left, staff who were recognized for 20 years of service: Chris Eckstrom and Gail Smith.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES recognized staff for reaching milestones in their years of service at BOCES during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Pictured here, from left, staff who were recognized for 10 years of service: Erica Rocco, Meghan Riley, Julie Moreau, Sarah Hussein and Robert Smith.
Retiring Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Sandra Sherwood speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Retiring Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Sandra Sherwood speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services James Picolla speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services James Picolla speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Board of Education President Holly Pullis speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Board of Education President Holly Pullis speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Future Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Donald “D.J.” Shepardson speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.
Future Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Donald “D.J.” Shepardson speaks during a staff welcome event on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Progress Room at the new Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center.