Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1067015
Member Spotlight 6 Winter 2018 | wyoea.edu Cyndi Mills—ESP on a Mission The head custodian at Jackson Elementary in Riverton is an amazing woman and WEA member – Cyndi Mills. Her ease with people is evident in her friendly smile and her personal witness of triumph over tragedy. Nine years ago, Cyndi was living with her husband Brad in their home state of Michigan. They both had good jobs when the economy took a turn for the worse in 2008. Cyndi's sister lived in Riverton and encouraged them to move to Wyoming for work and to start a new life. Cyndi began working as a night custodian at Riverton High School and she cleaned houses on the side. Her husband found work with an oil company. All seemed well. Then, in 2013, Cyndi was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy. She survived. But a year to the day after her diagnosis, her husband was also diagnosed with cancer, which he underwent surgery to remove. Tragically, twenty days later, Brad died of a massive heart attack. Nine months later, tragedy struck her family again when her teenaged grandson committed suicide. Cyndi found herself alone in Wyoming, unable to move back to her adult children and grandchildren in Michigan because she needed her health insurance provided by her job in the district. In fact, she joined WEA because she knew she could tap into the many member benefi ts. As she struggled to overcome her own health problems and the loss of her husband, Cyndi found her way to Setfree Church in Riverton. Her neighbor had invited her to attend for years and the congregation had been praying for her all along. Today, Cyndi is remarried to the pastor of that church and they work together to minister to lost people. Many are recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, gambling addicts, former criminals, and people rejected by society. They also feed the poor. Cyndi is always willing to share God's great plan for our lives and she is a shining example of service to others. Bob McCarty—WEA Off ered Opportunities to Grow When asked how he will spend the holidays, Bob replied, "Taking care of my 40-year-old, broken down mistress." Anyone who lucky enough to know Bob also knows that he would not talk about a person like that in real life, he was instead referring to the Torrington school he is custodian of in Goshen County School District 1. During the time he has been caretaking this building and its students he also earned his way into the 2017 Wyoming Custodian Hall of Fame. He recently shared this bit of wisdom to all the ESP's who are not currently WEA members, "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. You have got to be a member of WEA. One of the greatest growths in my life both personally and professionally have been through the trainings provided through the WEA and the NEA. Bob has inspired many ESP's to be involved in the Association over the years. His strong leadership and spirit of fun and inclusion has long driven the work of WEA. Old friends and WEA leaders, Bob McCarty and Southeast Region President Amy Simpson, enjoyed time together at a membership event in Torrington in December.