For many, retiring means moving onto greener pastures, namely the golf course.
"That's not me," said Ron Ford, former director of education for Living Sky School Division. "I have way too much energy for 'this is it.'"
Instead, since retiring from LSSD in August 2010, Ford busied himself in such activities as renovating his mother's house and taking a course in home inspections, always looking for the next step.
That next step turned out to be director of education at Sakewew High School.
"It's a huge learning opportunity for me, working with First Nations," said Ford, adding the cultural component of education at Sakewew is what sets it apart from other schools.
"The work that the elders are doing in the school, I think it's really something and it needs to be sustained and supported," said Ford.
Since starting his duties as director in early January, Ford has been experiencing facets of First Nations culture.
Colin Sutherland, Sakewew principal, said, "I have to congratulate him because he attended his first sweat with me a few weeks ago and wants to go to more."
Sutherland said Ford has a sound philosophy of education and is willing to learn about the culture of Sakewew's students.
"Since his arrival, he has been a natural fit as our new director of education," said Sutherland.
"I applaud his heart and truly respect him in all that he does as a director and as a person."
Randy Fox, who worked with Ford at LSSD as assistant director, becoming director upon Ford's retirement, said it comes as no surprise that Ford is doing well in his new position, as he enjoyed working with Ford himself.
"It's a good opportunity for him and it's a bonus to the school to employ someone with the experience and the attitude he brings," said Fox.
"He's very oriented to the needs of the students," he added.
Ford said his favourite part of any position is always the people, a viewpoint that contributes to his approach to staffing.
"First the who, then the what," said Ford. "You hire people with positive attitudes and then you help them get stronger."
Besides a positive attitude, Ford credits his successful career path to his strong work ethic.
"My philosophy is: you come to an organization, you work as hard as you can, you give it all you've got, then you move on," he said.
