You\u2019ve probably met Joan Miller. Over the last 23 years, if you went to school here, worked here, or visited a special event here (such as the recent Grandparents\u2019 Day at Apalachin Elementary where she made sure all the Grandmas and Grandpas had delicious wraps and OA\u2019s homemade soups), her life touched yours.<\/p>\n
Guaranteed she touched your life with a smile and a kind word, even if she might not have been feeling so great, lately, herself.<\/p>\n
Joan \u2013 or Joanie, to those closest to her \u2013 will retire from her position as Owego Apalachin Food Services site manager for all the district\u2019s cafeterias, at the close of this school year. Today she\u2019s feeling pretty spry. But the last two-and-a-half years? No stroll in the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had both knees done, had a hip done,\u201d Joan said, adding that she faced surgery for a thyroid issue along the way. She also beat breast cancer. But in typical Joan fashion, she was happy to gloss over such things, in a hurry to mention her staff and how much they mean to her. She calls them her girls – sometimes, her ladies. All except her boss, Tom Nunn, OA’s director of Food Services, of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girls, they\u2019re great. They supported me so much through all that,\u201d she said, recalling her physical struggles. \u201cEven when I came back, they were always right there for me. But I\u2019ll miss everybody. Some of them I\u2019ve worked with 18 years, 16 years. And I\u2019ll miss the kids, too. At the high school especially. I love the interaction with them, getting to know them.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think I\u2019m ready (to retire),\u201d Joan said, admitting, with a knock on wood, that she’s in her best physical condition in several years. \u201cAt the same time, I don\u2019t know if I want to leave all these ladies who work here – they really do such a great job and they make us all look good. But I know they will be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t care what anybody says. I have the best girls from any district right here,” Joan added. “I\u2019ll miss Tom (Nunn), too. He\u2019s been great. He\u2019s given me leeway to do just about anything I\u2019ve wanted to in our cafeterias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandy Phillips came aboard at OA last August and has trained with Joan this school year. She takes over heading into next school year. Phillips previously was site manager for the food service operation at Tioga Schools.<\/p>\n
The biggest changes in school meals over her tenure, said Joan, involved the reduced sodium content. She also mentioned the advent of \u201cRock on Caf\u00e9,\u201d which in the Broome-Tioga BOCES region encompasses 15 school districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concept is a good one,\u201d she said, \u201cand it tries to offer healthier options. It makes the menus more consistent across all the area schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Living in her Owego home since 1974, the same place she raised her OFA-graduate children, she has no desire to move any time soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy kids would like me to downsize. They say the house is too big,\u201d Joan said. \u201cBut when you\u2019ve lived somewhere so long, that kind of thing is hard to consider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Big plans for retirement? Not at all, Joan said. She\u2019ll travel to Florida shortly for a few weeks to visit family. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that? We\u2019ll figure it out. I have two grandchildren and another on the way,\u201d she said. \u201cMy three kids live in Rochester, New York City and Florida, of course. But after this, I don\u2019t know, honestly. I\u2019d like to work somewhere maybe three or four hours a day, but I\u2019m not sure where at this point.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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