PTA Council Recognizes Paul Rispoli
During their year-end awards luncheon, the Huntington School District's PTA Council recognized Paul Rispoli, district director of facilities, who is retiring at the end of July following more than three decades of service.
"He is a true professional and a gentleman," Mrs. Fehrs said. "He works tirelessly at every one of our buildings, often seven days a week." The luncheon crowd demonstrated its agreement with enthusiastic applause.
"Many, many times I've run past Southdown School on the weekends and I see Paul there working on one project or another," Mrs. Fehrs said. "He has always been there for PTA, whether we are asking for every table and chair in the district to be delivered for our staff appreciation luncheons and pasta nights, for lip sync's and luau's, to name a few, and usually with about 15 minutes notice, but he never bats an eye. It can be taken for granted that our facilities are just naturally kept up but Paul has set very high standards for himself and his staff. He is so dedicated to making our facilities not just safe but facilities that we can be proud of."
Mr. Rispoli can often be scene pulling up to a building's athletic fields and emerging from his vehicle with Patch, a 13-year old border collie that chases away Canadian geese grazing on district lawns. He routinely tours all buildings and grounds and meets with custodians and groundsmen to stay updated on conditions and specific needs.
"His quiet demeanor is in sharp contrast to his strong work ethic," Mrs. Fehrs said. "He is a fixture at so many sporting events, keeping a sharp eye on the fields. Now I don't know if Patch is retiring with Paul, but they've made a great team throughout the years so I would just like to thank them both on behalf of the PTA and tell them that they will be sorely missed."
The PTA Council gave Mr. Rispoli a bottle of champagne and a box of dog biscuits for PATCH, who is also rumored to be retiring.