PLEASANT PLAINS — Nancy Roberson of Pleasant Plains has spent much of her life behind a desk in the Midland School District’s administrative office — 42 years, to be exact.
Roberson worked as the superintendent’s secretary for all of those years.
She retired this past summer because of heart-health issues but worked hard up until that point, she said. July 24 was her last day with the school district, and she misses interacting with her co-workers.
“During my 42 years, I worked for 14 different superintendents,” Roberson said.
She said she worked 14 years in the Pleasant Plains School District, but when the school consolidated, she spent 28 more years with the Midland School District.
“Sometimes it was difficult [getting used to a new superintendent] because everyone has a different way of doing things,” Roberson said.
Before working at the school, Roberson said, she worked in Batesville but jumped at the chance of getting a job closer to her home.
“It was so close to home, and I knew the secretary who was there [before me] was going to be leaving, so I put my application in,” she said. “Bill Cole hired me.”
Roberson’s daily duties included answering the phone and keeping up with the money that came in for the school’s activities.
Dean Stanley, current superintendent of the Midland School District, worked with Roberson for five years.
“[Nancy] was very stable. She had been here for 42 years. She knew the ins and outs of the school district,” Stanley said. “She’s very detail oriented, and she always made sure things were running properly.”
Stanley said he misses Roberson on a daily basis.
“If I could describe her in one word, that would be ‘dedicated,’” he said. “She was here through good times and bad times in this district, and she stood her ground throughout everything.”
Before Roberson retired, she said, she wanted to make sure her replacement had the same dedication she did to her job.
“When I told Mr. Stanley I wasn’t going to come back to work, I told him I had one request,” Roberson said. “I want you to hire someone who’s conscientious and will do my job well.”
Roberson said she knows Stanley has done that.
“I feel like I was dedicated, and I wanted to do a good job,” she said.
Roberson, who is 72 years old, looks forward to spending time with her family and practicing her hobby — writing letters and sending greeting cards.
“I have friends that I write letters too, and I enjoy doing that type of thing,” Roberson said. “I feel like I sometimes brighten people’s day by sending a card.”
She said if she gets bored, she’ll find someone to write a letter to, and she’ll now be able to spend more time doing that.
“I have a granddaughter who lives in Little Rock, and I try to write a letter to her every week,” Roberson said.
She said she looks forward to taking some time for herself and doing what she wants to do for a while.
Staff writer Lisa Burnett can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or lburnett@arkansasonline.com.