Late in the afternoon on June 24, students, teachers, parents and members of the community gathered to celebrate Ms. Vessy Mochikas’ time in Logan Lake schools.

Included among the Logan Lakers who offered a wide assortment of positive reflections for and about Mochikas’ work, not only in the schools but the larger community, were Elaine Pennoyer and Sherri Lyall of W.H.Y., Mayor Robin Smith, Nicole Montgomery of the PAC, Hannah Munro, a student and Junior Leo, Molly Kutche of the Logan Lake Arts Council and student athlete, Lexie Haidon.

It was obvious that most of these individuals had a difficult time holding back the tears while, as in typical Vessy style, she made a point of sharing the compliments with her partner Terri and daughter Thea.

Both of them have missed important family moments because of Vessy’s travel time, school commitments which included coaching and refereeing a variety of sports activities, attending school-related meetings and having to cope with an assortment of challenges, not the least of which was the strike situation.

I was able to catch up with Vessy last week as she was cleaning out her office and packing up all the school memories with which she’s been blessed over the past five years.

When she stopped to take a break, Mochikas couldn’t say enough positive things about special families such as the Dicks, the Taylors, the Thistlewaites and the McGarrys who have supported and encouraged her during both the good and the not-so-good times.

From her perspective, they represented the exceptional generational service of both parents and students to the schools and the community.

Mochikas had nothing but compliments for the students, teachers, support staff and custodians of both schools and, last but not least, the community of Logan Lake.

Among the packed memories was the special gift given Vessy from Lexie Haidon. It was the MVP necklace Lexie received following her participation in a recent fastball tournament and now her and her teammates are playing in the provincials.

She thanked Vessy for “having a big impact on her, for being an amazing person and for coaching her baseball teams for the past two years.”  More importantly, Lexie will “happily invite me to her graduation.”

If there were any regrets, Ms. Mochikas wishes she had asked for a vice principal earlier than 2014-15 so that it would have been possible for Mrs. Youd to have been financially compensated for all her extra work which happened during the four years the two shared at Logan Lake Secondary School before Donna’s retirement in June, 2014.

Ms. Mochikas had another appointment on her schedule, and as she was ushering me out of her office for the last time, she had one final comment.

“My time in Logan Lake was extremely special in that the staff and students of both schools together with so many community members were like a family for me so now I feel as if I’m leaving home,” she said. “I am grateful for the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made. I will continue to stay in touch with many of you.”

We reluctantly let Ms. Mochikas leave to return to Brock Middle School in Kamloops where she’ll have an exciting new beginning in the fall, but she’ll leave behind a heart-full of special memories for Logan Lakers of all ages!