Roy Reese, a name that most everyone in Goshen is familiar with, will end his reign as Superintendent of Goshen Central School District this year as he completes his fifth year and retires from the district.

Mr. Reese reflects upon his time here in Goshen coming to an end and concludes, “This has truly been my home and a large part of my heart is in the community and district.”

In 1995 Mr. Reese retired as the Goshen High School principal after ten years. Three days later he realized that a retired life was not right for him just yet. Mr. Reese decided to look for other educational opportunities and was called by the Beacon School District; where he became acting principal while they constructed their new high school. Mr. Reese stayed in Beacon for three years and oversaw the construction of the building though when it became time to hire a new principal for the opening of the school, Mr. Reese retired yet again so that the school district could find a younger principal who would be with the school for many years.

Mr. Reese returned nine years after his first retirement to become superintendant of the Goshen School District, yet he had never really left Goshen. He had been actively involved in the high school musical productions since he was principal of the high school. He attended play practice every single day and worked on lighting and other technical jobs. “He was involved in almost every aspect of the production” said music teachers Mrs. Fedor and Mrs.Lloyd. Ben Glick a student, who worked with Mr. Reese on the technical end of the play for the last three years, describes Mr. Reese as “a father figure and a perfectionist.”  Working side by side with teachers and parents, Mr. Reese formed personal relationships with the community.

Mr. Litz comments on Mr. Reese’s greatest achievement, and said there are too many. “His work ethic is impeccable. The community has developed a sense of trust in him and he developed personal relationships with them. Whoever the next superintendant is will have big shoes to fill!”

Mrs. Reese, Mr. Reese’s wife and high school librarian, comments on the personal side of her husband saying, “He is caring but intelligent too. He has a big heart and cares about people a lot. Ben Glick agrees. “He is very understanding. If there is something wrong, he knows it.” When asked about his odd habits she said laughing, “I’d say his eating habits!”  Mr. Reese is a junk food junky, who loves all kinds of sweets and excludes anything green from his diet.

After retirement Mr. Reese will still be as busy as ever. “He is definitely not the kind to be sitting home in a rocking chair” says Mrs. Reese. He plans to still stay very involved in the Goshen community and will be back for the musical every year. He will also keep teaching at Mount Saint Mary College just like he has been since 1996. Mr. Reese also plans to spend time riding horses, and even buy one of his own. Another hobby of his that he wants to be more involved with is running his agility dogs. As of now he has four dogs. Though only one is an agility dog, he is beginning to train another for agility, and a third dog as a therapy dog.

Mr. Reese has final thought about who the next superintendant will be: “I do not know if I call this advice, but I think it is very important that who ever is the next superintendent that person learns in a short time, as much as possible about the community and the school district. I also think it’s very important that the new superintendant becomes involved with the community and spends a lot of time with the kids.” Most everyone in the Goshen community can conclude that whoever the new superintendant is, will have large shoes to fill.