Steamboat Pilot & Today

At its monthly meeting Thursday night, the South Routt School Board unanimously elected Tim Corrigan its president. There was little discussion about Corrigan's selection, as board members quickly made it official with a hearty round of "aye" votes. "That's called railroading," board member Linda Long said with a laugh.

Corrigan is beginning his third year on the board. He replaces Hank deGanahl in the leadership role. DeGanahl remains on the board but said he was not eligible to fill an office this year.

"I think Hank was an outstanding president," Corrigan said. "He did a great job of bringing us together as a group and achieving consensus; I hope to emulate what he's done."

Board members selected Rodney Wilson to continue his role as vice president. New member Gena Hange, who works at Northwest Graphics in Steamboat Springs, will serve as treasurer. Linda Long is the secretary. The board also said goodbye to member Kevin Gneiser, who volunteered four years of service.

"Thank you, Kevin -- I hate to see you leave," deGanahl said to Gneiser.

Along with Hange, new members Willie Smith and Alida Lee Gingrich were sworn in by deGanahl, as one of his last acts before handing over the gavel to Corrigan.

Smith is the boys basketball coach at Soroco Middle School. Gingrich began serving on the board after an appointment to fill a vacancy earlier this year and was formally sworn in Thursday night. The meeting's highlight was a presentation by Soroco High School students who traveled to Kentucky last month to participate in the FFA National Convention. FFA is the logo of a national organization that supports many agricultural endeavors, in addition to farming.

District Superintendent Kelly Reed said the Soroco High group is recognized in Colorado as one of the best FFA chapters in the state. Students and FFA members Kensie Scott, Tack Louthan, Jeff Connett, Glenda Long, Emily Strait and Marc Bell showed slides of their trip -- which included visits to the Churchill Downs racetrack and the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory -- to board members. For Scott and Bell, the trip was their first time traveling by airplane. Louthan's brother Tucker, a freshman at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, received his FFA American Degree, a prestigious honor, at the convention. Student Kelsey Samuelson also made the trip to Kentucky but was not at Thursday's board meeting. Scott, the Soroco FFA chapter president, said attending the convention with 54,000 other FFA members from across the nation was "an awesome feeling," and he thanked the board for its support. Board members returned the gratitude. "Thank you for representing our school district and our community," Corrigan said.

Board members also discussed setting up a retreat to discuss budget and policy issues. The Steamboat Springs School Board, which also has new members, is in the process of setting up at least one retreat, as well.

-- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com