Jolene Greenwood and Nelda Grundy are retiring from Carbon School District after many years of service.
Carbon School District Press Release
For anyone who has ever entered the Carbon School District Administrative offices their smiling faces will be missed. Jolene Greenwood and Nelda Grundy, who have manned the front desks and been administrative assistants to superintendents, assistant superintendents and administrative supervisors retired together last week.
“It will be a real change,” said Superintendent Steve Carlsen a few weeks ago just before he conducted interviews that were intended to find replacements for the pair.
Jolene Greenwood was Carlsen’s administrative assistant ever since he came to the district five years ago. She served in that capacity for four different superintendents, but has a history with the district that began in 1985.
“I started at Price Elementary School as the lunch secretary and then went full time later,” she said in an interview the day of her and Grundy’s going-away-party. “From 1987-2002 I worked at Westridge Middle School (the same building the administrative offices are now located in) and then as the person who called for guest teachers (substitutes) until 2006.”
She then moved to the business office for some time from where she then progressed to becoming the superintendent’s secretary.
She said over the years she has had great jobs in the district and has loved the people she worked with as well as dealing with patrons of the school district.
“The only thing I didn’t like about my job working for the superintendent was that sometimes people would come in with a problem and I couldn’t solve it for them,” she said. “I don’t like disappointing people.”
Originally from Pleasant Grove, she met her husband Floyd at a Halloween party at what was then Provo Trade Tech (now Utah Valley University). The pair have been married 40 years and have five children and nine grandchildren.
“The camaraderie here at the district is great,” she said, looking sad about leaving people she has worked with for many years. “Education is always changing, with new things to learn and the technology that has been introduced is wonderful. I have always felt very included in everything that went on here.”
For Grundy, a home grown product of Carbon County, the feelings are similar.
“I will miss being involved in education,” she said. “I have always been very impressed with the dedication of everyone in Carbon District. They love the children and want them to succeed. Most of them are truly in it for the kids.”
She and Greenwood have worked together for their many years in the district, sometimes in the same buildings. Grundy began with the district in 1991 at Westridge Middle School and later went on to work at Mont Harmon Junior High. In 2007 she came to the district office to be the elementary and secondary supervisors administrative assistant.
“The best part of the job has been working with all the wonderful people here,” she said in a similar reflection to Greenwood’s thoughts. “The worst part, well, is that I am not a morning person, and of course you have to be here in the morning.”
She has been married for 34 years to her husband Ed. They have three children, two from her first marriage to Chris Jensen who passed away in 1979. During the years while she was single and raising those first two kids she began working for the district as a substitute teacher.
Both women have some plans for retirement, but nothing too set yet.
Greenwood said that she will be taking care of grandkids, and doing some travel.
“I also have boxes and boxes of rocks that I have gathered over the years,” she said. “I am going to do something with them now.”
Grundy said she is going to purge and declutter her house. She and her husband are also raising a grandson.
“I have put so many things on hold for so long, now I can get to some of those,” she said.
The new hires in the two jobs already know they have big shoes to fill. But they are experienced in the district and have a good start toward fulfilling the responsibilities. Carlsen’s administrative assistant will be Heather Martines, who has worked in the district office in the special education department for 10 years. Filling Grundy’s spot will be Toni Thayn, who has been the attendance tracker at the district for the last five years.