Leader photo/ALY GIBSON Cassopolis Public Schools Supt. Gregory Weatherspoon spoke to family, friends and co-workers Thursday during his retirement reception at Sam Adams Elementary.

After 40 years of service in education, Cassopolis Supt. Gregory Weatherspoon retired after the 2011-2012 academic year, celebrating the milestone with family, friends and coworkers Thursday.

During a reception held at Sam Adams Elementary School in Cassopolis, Weatherspoon’s family joined him in celebrating retirement. Co-workers from Cassopolis Public Schools, as well as past positions Weatherspoon held, also attended to congratulate the superintendent on serving 40 years in education, beginning as a teacher in Lansing in 1972. From there, Weatherspoon went on to work in Cassopolis, Willow Run, Ill., and Lansing once more before returning to Cassopolis. He served as superintendent for Cassopolis Public Schools for seven years.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Weatherspoon said of retiring. “I get to smell the roses now, enjoy the water a little more.”

Weatherspoon and his wife have a home in Lansing and spend the summers in Cassopolis. Now that retirement has kicked in, he and his wife will be able to go back and forth between their summerhouse on the lake and their home in Lansing.

Tracy Hertsel, Ross Beatty Junior/Senior High School principal, will take over the district as superintendent and said he couldn’t have prepared for the job without Weatherspoon.

“We were both born and raised here in Cassopolis,” Hertsel said. “I’m glad to pick up where he left off.”

Hertsel said the only hesitance he has over the transition is that education is going through a tough time and he hopes to do as good a job with Cassopolis schools as Weatherspoon did.
“That will be the biggest struggle,” Hertsel said. “But I’m sure I’ll have him (Weatherspoon) on speed dial.”

For Weatherspoon, he said he was glad he got the chance to come back to a community he loves and give back as much as he could.

“To come through and then come back and give back, that’s full circle,” Weatherspoon said.
“I’ll miss the winning moments where students are competing and succeeding, but I’m hoping they will go get what they want and bring it back here.”