Superintendent finalist

I have been gathering more background information on the candidate our B-B-E school board selected for a final interview, Patrick Walsh of Hutchinson. All good!

When I first started digging for information on the three non-local candidates, one question that came up in my mind was, "Why would an administrator in a large school such as Hutchinson be interested in B-B-E?" I'll offer a couple responses to that valid question. First, he is an Osakis native, and obviously someone who grew up in Osakis would have a pretty good idea about what growing up in B-B-E Jaguar Country is like.

Mr. Walsh graduated from Osakis in 1983. His late father, Jim, played football for North Dakota Agricultural School (known today as NDSU), and also was a teacher, coach and A.D. at Osakis "way back when" - if he is selected as our superintendent, I look forward to hearing any stories he may have of his dad from "way back when" at Osakis.

I've also learned his family owns property in Pope County. His wife's line of profession is as a nurse practitioner, and she is a native of Long Prairie.

Also, his younger sister is the head girls' and boys' tennis coach at Minnewaska Area (and a good coaching friend of mine, coincidentally)

Another fun fact: his late mother, Dianne, grew up in a town of just 70 people in rural North Dakota. One of her greatest skills was the ability to play piano by ear. She ultimately double-majored at NDSU in Choral Music and English.

Here's my first attempt at embedding a Facebook post into this sports blog. It is from the Hutchinson's Economic Development Authority page, and it was posted on Monday this week. It gives an example of what the Hutchinson community feels about his work in their senior high school. Note: to properly view this, you should log into Facebook and then click on the graphics to move over to the Facebook platform and see what is posted.

...........but I may be putting the cart before the horse here! 

Before diving too far into Mr. Walsh's life, family and background, we have to get through the final interview session on Thursday night. If the board ultimately votes to offer Mr. Walsh a contract, a negotiation period has to take place. So as I said in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice page one article, we still have a ways to go. The only thing I DO know is that we have to have a new superintendent under contract before July 1.

It is exciting to see the genuine interest in this matter by members of the public. It shows that the public body of parents, grandparents, former school employees and general citizens of Jaguar Country really care about the future of the B-B-E school district.

##ConquerEveryDay