After ten years as the welcoming voice for visitors, staff and students at the Career and Technical Education Center, BOCES 2 Career and Technical Education Center receptionist Judy Lockwood is retiring. Lockwood will continue her 'other' career as a real estate agent with Prudential Discover Real Estate. She has been an associate broker for 15 years and feels privileged to help people find homes. In her leisure time, Lockwood and her husband will be cruising to Alaska, babysitting the grandkids, writing their autobiographies for their children and getting all those family photos into albums. Lockwood and her husband, Ron, have a blended family of nine children and 13 grandchildren. When she leaves, she'll be taking fond memories of the students who have grown up, graduated and come back to share what they made of themselves. "I think it's a real tribute to BOCES 2 CTE that so many students return to show-off what they've achieved," she said. Lockwood will also take with her memories from 20 years ago when she began her career with BOCES (before leaving to marry and return) of a young woman who began her career with BOCES as a speech teacher, a young man who taught the visually impaired, and a co-worker with an infectious laugh. We know these three as: JoAnne Antonacci, assistant superintendent of instructional programs; Tom Gallagher, principal at Wheatland-Chili's TJ Connor Elementary School, and Pat Gioia who took care of school age records and transportation for special education. Lockwood also worked with E.J. Wilson (her former high school principal), Leo Bernabi and Dr. Richard Ten Haken, retired BOCES district superintendent. Lockwood remembers when booking a conference room meant writing it in a book, not logging it into an on-line calendar. This year, she is enjoying the two-way radio she was issued to locate staff without leaving her post, saving valuable time. She says her favorite moments over the years have been the CTE graduations. "It's very powerful to see the students walk across the stage to receive their certificates, scholarships and awards," said Lockwood. She'll miss the students who return to share their accomplishments and she'll miss her co-workers, she says. |
