Please join me in welcoming our newest staff members, Bud Hover and Brooke Lucy, and congratulating Chris Eckstrom in her new assignment. We are confident Bud, Brooke, and Chris will provide our students, staff, and families with high levels of leadership and support!
Director of Operations and Capital Projects – Bud Hover
The MVSD has restructured how we manage our transportation, food services, and custodial/maintenance departments within our organization. The district’s decision to restructure is based upon a set of beliefs that include:
- Every department within our organization impacts student learning. This includes the interactions that take place between our students when traveling on the bus to-and-from school, students receiving healthy nutritious meals, and having access to safe and clean facilities that facilitate teaching and learning.
- Improving the quality of our services provided to students in families begins with strong leadership and support for all staff. Thus, it requires us to strategically invest existing resources into the professional growth and development of every staff member.
- We invest in the on-going maintenance of our community-owned facilities. With the successful passage of our recent Capital Projects and Transportation Vehicle Fund levies, both require careful management and close supervision.
That being said, the Methow Valley School District has hired Bud Hover to serve as the Director of Operations and Capital Projects. As the Director of Operations and Capital Projects, Bud will supervise the Transportation, Food Services, and Custodial/Maintenance Departments. In addition, he will provide high levels of leadership and oversight of our district’s many capital projects. A graduate of Issaquah High School, Bud’s father worked for Boeing for 45 years and his mom served as a school bus driver for the Issaquah school district. His educational background and experience includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Education from Washington State University and a Master’s of Public Administration degree from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs.
Bud’s most recent experience includes serving on the governor’s cabinet as the Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Prior to his appointment by the governor, he spent eight years serving as the Okanogan County Commissioner representing District #2. In addition to his recent work-related experience, Bud utilized his PAC-10 (Washington State University) and NFL Football (Washington Redskins) experience while serving as Liberty Bell’s head football coach for eight years. Bud and his wife Tonya have two sons, Andy and Wes, both of whom graduated from the Methow Valley School District and now have three of their own attending the Methow Valley Schools.
When not at work, Bud enjoys time spent hunting, working on the farm, and sitting with his wife on the porch in a rocking chair watching the sun come up. In brief, Bud’s educational background and leadership experience speak to his interest in solicit different points of view, listening skills, and ability to bring people together.
Methow Valley Elementary School Counselor – Brooke Lucy
As part of it’s commitment to establishing a “System of Exceptional Teaching and Learning” that focuses on developing curious, creative, compassionate, competent, action-oriented citizens prepared to change the world, the Methow Valley School District has developed Student and Family Support Services team. The Student and Family Support Services team includes school counseling services, mental health services, nursing services, and special education services across all grades K-12. Brooke Lucy is our newest member to join the Methow Valley School District’s Student and Family Support Services team. Brooke Lucy comes to the position of elementary school counselor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Education from Prescott College and a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology from Heritage University.
Brooke has lived in the Methow Valley for over 15 years and has spent the past 10 years, with her husband Sam, raising their two daughters and running their family farm business. Brooke is delighted to return to the education field and looks forward to serving Methow Valley Elementary students and staff as the elementary school counselor.
Secretary to the District Office – Chris Eckstrom
As our district continues to grow in enrollment and expand it’s many educational services, it’s important to build and maintain a healthy system of support that can be accessed by students, parents, and staff throughout our organization. With this belief in mind, the district has hired Chris Eckstrom to serve as the Secretary to the District Office. For the past ten years, Methow Valley Elementary secretary, Chris Eckstrom, has been a familiar, welcoming face to district families. Raised on the Kitsap Peninsula, Chris went on to study English and Environmental Studies at Seattle University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995.
Prior to moving to the Methow, she co-owned a mechanical contracting company, dividing her time between fieldwork and bookkeeping. Chris’ favorite pastimes include playing piano, tennis, horseback riding and spending time with family and friends. As she joins the district office team, she looks forward to finding many new ways to support our students, staff, and families.
More to come…
We look forward to sharing more information with you as we look to fill the Secretary to the Elementary Principal and Secretary to the Director of Operations and Capital Projects positions.
If you wish to learn more information about these positions, please contact Methow Valley Schools superintendent, Tom Venable at tvenable@methow.org or (509) 996-9205.