Superintendents salute long time manager

A 28-year career in the Maple Lake School District Office is about to come to a close.

School staff members gathered last week to honor Ellie Tuffs at a retirement party that also drew three past and present school superintendents with terms that span nearly 50 years of school leadership.

And though those superintendents led the school district, they couldn’t run the district without the help of Ellie Tuffs.

Tuffs was hired as the district’s payroll clerk in August of 1979, on the same day as her interview with Superintendent Roger Riesgraf and Business Manager Bette Cantin. But, Tuffs almost didn’t take the position because she had to make sure that it was okay with her son, Tim, who would be starting 7th grade at MLHS, and daughter, Tammy, a third grader in the elementary.

Tuffs started her career at the Wright County Court house, and then entered the Rockford Public Schools system before landing a job in Maple Lake.

“I was told about the job by Ken Engel, and I knew that I wanted to be closer to my home on Lake Sullivan, along with my kids,” said Tuffs.

Although she currently is the Human Resources Manager, Tuffs has done everything in the district from payroll, to bookkeeping, to human resources over the past 28 years.

More information appears in this week’s issue of the Messenger.

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