By Mackenzie Bernas

After 23 years and six months at PA, the well-respected head custodian Mr. Green is taking his step into retirement. Green made this announcement shortly after accepting the position of Homecoming Marshall. Mr. Green’s plan is to work up until the winter break and call it a career.

 Administrative assistant Jamie LaCava-Owen is one of the many who respect Mr. Green and expressed her appreciation for him: “Mr. Green is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met.” 

“Everybody is going to miss him. He’s going to be very hard to replace,” said LaCava-Owen, who met Mr. Green when she first started working at PA a few years ago. “When I first got here actually, I had no idea what I was doing,” said LaCava-Owen.

She recalled Mr. Green as one of the two people who she came to with all her questions that naturally came with being new. LaCava-Owen explained, “He was just very direct and always willing to help and always did it with a friendly face and a friendly attitude.” She added how he made every day better and “even though he has so much stuff to do, he never makes you feel like you’re interrupting his day or his schedule.”

LaCava-Owen feels like a very big participant of school because Mr. Green was such a huge help when she was just adjusting to PA: “I don’t think I would feel as connected to the Princess Anne community if it hadn’t been for him that very first year.”

English teacher Jacqueline Davis agrees that Mr. Green has been a huge help to the school and PA’s staff: “Mr. Green has always been the go-to person anytime there has been an issue in the building,” said Davis. She recalled how much Mr. Green aided teachers in need around the beginning of each school year. A specific time he saved Davis from a tricky situation was when a filing cabinet happened to fall on her and said “he had to come into the room and rescue me from the falling cabinet. “

“I’m sad to see him go. He has always been the person to help,” said Davis

Mr. Green’s retirement announcement at a faculty meeting last month, came as a shock, and earned him a standing ovation. “That was just a tribute for all of his years at Princess Anne High School and his help,” said Davis. “I stood because it is so sad to watch him leave. Every year at the beginning of the year, if you ask for help he would always say yes.”

Mr. Green believes he was named Homecoming Marshall is because of his faith in PA and cleanliness. “I believe in students and I believe that every student [has] a goal in life and their goals are to learn in a clean, healthy environment from the custodians.”

After leaving PA, Mr. Green plans to spend his time aiding those in need. “When I retire, I’m planning on going to help the homeless shelters, feed the needy and the poor, and take care of my yard,” he said. What he ended up enjoying most about his job are the students and the people: “I love to talk.” 

LaCava-Owen believes that other than his kindness and all of his help towards others, him just being a part of everyone’s days made those days better. 

“I can just picture him smiling walking down the hall,” said LaCava-Owen. “He is just the type of person who brightens everybody else’s day just because he exists.”