While the Jefferson City School District Board of Education couldn't hold a reception for Steve Bruce during his last board meeting in April, the board recognized him with a surprise recognition reception Tuesday.
Bruce served six years on the Board of Education, from 2014-20. He was the treasurer from 2015-16, vice president in 2017 and president from 2017-19.
After the board members, JC Schools leaders, and Bruce's wife and daughters surprised him, Superintendent Larry Linthacum gave him a plaque.
"With our gratitude for your time, talent and support of our students, parents and staff, we appreciate your standard of excellence and your contribution to the future of our district. From, Jefferson City School District Board of Education, administration, staff and students," the plaque reads.
Normally, when the board swears in new members at a meeting, they hold a small reception to honor the outgoing members. There was not a reception at the conclusion of Bruce's term in April because the board met virtually due to COVID-19.
Bruce said he joined the board to give back to the community so it meant a lot to him that everybody there took the time to plan the reception and be there to recognize him and his accomplishments.
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"It's nice to be recognized for the hard work that you put in and the accomplishments that you're able to achieve whenever you're in office, but that's not why you do it," he said. "So it was very humbling to see a room full of friends and former colleagues that made the time out of their busy days to be able to come and do that."
Bruce said one of his biggest accomplishments from his time on the board was the first thing he did as a board member, which was ensuring safety at the schools. He was committed to ensuring students, teachers and the public were safe when they're in school buildings, he said, so he played a part in upgrading the entryways at each school - about 10 - that didn't have secure entryways.
Bruce said he was proud that when asked which schools' entryways should be upgraded first, he and other board members said they needed to do them all quickly so nobody had to wait for their safety.
"I was really proud of the fact that we accomplished that," he said.
Some other accomplishments Bruce noted are the construction of Capital City High School and revitalization of Jefferson City High School and how these two public funds projects were under budget and on time.
He's also proud the board started a conversation on how to improve academics, he said.
"It takes a lot of courage in public life and public service, whether you're elected or whether you're a member of the staff, to admit that there's areas that you can be doing better and do that publicly and then start the process of looking at what do you need to do to make that improvement later on - so I was glad that that conversation started," he said.
He said he hopes the board continues this conversation and focuses on academics.
"Accomplishing that mission is of the highest priority when it comes to the quality of life in our community and what it means to raise your kids in Jefferson City," he said.
Bruce said he wouldn't have been successful serving on the board without the support structure of his colleagues, friends, wife and daughters.
"When you serve on a board of education, there are hard days, there are long nights, there's a lot of work that people don't see that goes into decisions that are gut wrenching, can be really difficult, that - if you're doing it right - will keep you up at night, you'll lose a lot of sleep and you will be away from your family for a lot of time," he said. "I can't underscore enough that you really have to have a good support structure because you have to have folks that believe in what you're trying to do."