By JUDY RATTNER
The event, which took place on Jan. 31 at the Oceanside Knights of Columbus Hall, included a cocktail hour, dinner, dancing and 50/50 raffles to support the club. Also honored that evening was Kathy Baccaglini, former Booster Club president, who was presented with the Mary E. Horn Award for her outstanding volunteer service.
In presenting a plaque of appreciation to Heller, school superintendent Dr. William Johnson praised him for his many accomplishments during his 24 years in the district. Johnson called Heller a wonderful administrator, commenting that his best attention is always to detail. He said Heller always quickly got a job done, no matter what, without a fuss. While praising Heller for being a great leader, Johnson said he was first and foremost a top notch teacher. "Whatever conversation I've had with him in the [24] years he's been in the district," said Johnson, "begins with the students, continues about the students and ends with the students."
Heller, said Johnson, is the kind of individual who has touched the life of every person in the room. Looking out at the number of retired teachers who came to acknowledge Mike Heller's outstanding career, Johnson said it was like a reunion. Johnson said Heller was unequivocally the best athletic director in Nassau County. And he said both his current secretary Patti Dwyer, and his former secretary Betty Conway "would attest to the fact that when you walk into his office, nothing is ever out of place. I even think he ironed his tie for tonight's event."
Johnson detailed a few of Heller's many accomplishments. "We all start out with a dream. For Mike, his goals have been accomplished." Johnson cited the athletic director's work in introducing Project Adventure to the high school physical education curriculum, adding the weight rooms in the middle and high schools, bringing a trainer on board and his assistance in forming the athlete's Hall of Fame. "In reality," Johnson said, "he has made Rockville Centre's athletic program different and better."
In reflecting on his years in the district, Heller said he has dearly loved and dearly cherished the time. He described his thoughts in connecting with the Board of Education, the parents and the kids, and touched on the good and the not-so-good times. At the end of the day, he said he feels he achieved everything because it was always in the best interest of the kids, regardless of how popular. And in speaking about the teachers, the growth of the physical education department, and the resulting trials and tribulations, Heller, who has announced plans to retire at the end of the current school year, said he felt that the teachers didn't work for him, they all worked with him as part of a team.
