Keeping Up With Kevin

On Monday morning I was told that Kevin Conaughty had passed away.  Kevin was our maintenance director for Frankfort #168.  If I had a project, he worked with me to get it done.  If something broke down, he made sure it was repaired.  If I had questions about food service, he knew the answer.  He was excellent at his job.  That description does not tell his story.  Anyone that knew him or had the privilege to work with him knew he was more than a Mr. Fix-it.  If you knew him, you could only hope to keep up with him.

If you wanted to know what Kevin was actually up to, you could attend any school board meeting and listen to his report.  He had a long list of things that were fixed, a long list of things that were broke and a long list of plans to take care of all of it.  We would often smile the longer he went on.  We always knew he was the hardest working man in the district because his report was usually longer than any one else's.

"Good morning Charles.  How's you day going?"  He said this to me with a smile everyday he saw me as he was leaving the kitchen in my building.  Sometimes he called me "Sir Charles" and I kinda liked it.  I always gave him a generic answer like, "It's still early Kevin" or "Not too shabby" even if my day was already going to the dogs.  He was such a soldier for his work and the district that I never wanted him to really know that I was having a bad day or early struggles.  I knew what his work load was and he never showed me anything other than optimism so that is what I gave back to him.

Kevin was not all business all the time.  There was always moments to share stories and tell jokes to share a laugh.  What separates Kevin from many is that the laughs were had after the work was done.  He was never one to be off task or be unproductive with goofing off and silliness.  It's easy for me to do that sometimes and he was always a shining example of getting a job done.  We can have fun later.

He may be gone, but I will not stop trying to keep up with him.  Kevin was in constant pursuit of doing the job right for the kids and staff of our district.  He is a prime example of how there is no finish line when it comes to the special work of schools.  He was truly one of the best of us and the best we can do for him is to follow his example and chase what is best for kids.  I may never catch him, but I will try to keep up.

Rest in peace my friend.