Jeff Coons, Lyons Central School District’s Director of Facilities and Operations, will be saying goodbye to his long career with the district at the end of December.
This past summer, Mr. Coons said he knew he was nearing the 30-year mark in his career, and he was ready for something new. He is looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren, taking on new woodworking projects and doing some home remodeling for his family.
Mr. Coons, who started working at the district in 1991, is retiring on December 29.
“It’s a great place to work. It’s been a great career and it’s very satisfying,” Mr. Coons said. “There will be times that I will miss it, yes. There will definitely be times.”
Lyons Superintendent Dr. Matthew Barr said the entire district community has benefitted immensely from the level of dedication and care Mr. Coons always brought into his work.
"Jeff Coons has been a mainstay at the Lyons Central School District for decades,” Dr. Barr said. “His commitment to ensure students, staff and the community had access to quality facilities was evident through his hard work and leadership. Jeff will be missed as both an outstanding professional and person."
Working in the same district that his children went to school has been a great experience. He loved getting to spend extra time with his kids as they were growing up, and now Mr. Coons’ adult son, Garrett Coons, now works at the district as well in IT.
At various points in time, his wife and other adult children also held positions in the district — something that Mr. Coons thought was very special.
“Unless it’s a family business, you don’t get to do that in the public sector,” Mr. Coons said.
“It’s such a great place to work that at one point my entire family of five was working here.”
The Lyons community is a tight-knit place, said Jeff Coons’ son Garrett Coons. Many teachers and staff members have close relationships, and coworkers form strong bonds working together. For the Coons family, those working relationships are two-fold.
“We’re related by blood, but some of them are family by choice,” Garrett Coons said.
Garrett Coons has enjoyed watching his father rise through the ranks from a custodian to the director. He appreciated learning from his father’s work ethic and observing how he always would step in to help a coworker.
Even when his dad became the Director of Facilities and Operations, he still would see his dad with paint on his clothes or grass stains on his pants if something needed to be painted or the school’s lawn needed to be mowed. He didn’t just sit behind a desk all day, Garrett Coons said.
“He did whatever needed to be done to help his guys out,” Garrett Coons said. “It says a lot about his work ethic, and it’s developed the way that I have become a leader. I try and be a role model like he was and always say, ‘Let’s do this together.’”