Rotary Honors School Employees

May 19, 2009

The Pollock Pines - Camino Rotary Club honored three outstanding Camino School District employees at a dinner on May 19^th at Sportsman’s Hall.  Two of the three had been notified previously of their award, but the third was a surprise.

The first honoree was Mrs. Eileen Butterfield, a school bus driver who has been credited with the amazing ability to have saved the lives of her young passengers one day earlier this year when her bus was hit by an on-coming car.  Only because of her clarity of mind and quick response time was the damage to the bus minimal and unbelievably not one child hurt.

The second honoree was Mr. Eric Bonniksen, the new school principal.  Being a school administrator does have its challenges, but Mr. Bonniksen’s first year has seen both the unraveling of school funding from state and federal sources, as well as a school closure due to the H1N1 virus.    He was chosen as his school’s honoree because of his excellence in handling every situation.

The unexpected honoree was none other than the school’s current superintendent, Dr. Suzanne Egger.  Dr. Egger agreed to help out the district by taking on the awesome responsibilities of a full time school leader in the role of a part time superintendent.  Just as Mr. Bonniksen has had to respond to incredible first year challenges, Dr. Egger’s ultimate “the buck stops here” responsibility has been daunting, and unfortunately even includes the loss of some staff positions.  No easy task for anyone.

Eileen Butterfield                               Erik Bonnikson and              

                                                                                            Dr.   Eggers

(Article by Jeanne Harper)