August 2018 Newsletter: Employee Spotlight — David Boyer, Director of Operations
David Boyer, Director of Operations for Shaker Schools, was only ten days into his new job at the District when the Fernway roof caught fire. But Mr. Boyer, a U.S. Army veteran with more than 25 years of experience in public school operations, stayed calm and focused on planning for next steps at Fernway and ensuring that the rest of the District’s seven schools and grounds would be ready to go for the first day of school. Learn more about Mr. Boyer:
What was your pathway into the military?
When I was 12 years old, my mom suggested that I start helping a family friend who had a residential construction business. I grew up in a family of five kids, so I think she wanted to find a way to keep me busy. So I went to the friend, knocked on his door and he put me to work digging ditches and doing other labor for him. By the time I was 17, I was a carpenter on one of his crews. After I graduated from high school, I loaded everything I owned into my Pontiac Grand Prix and drove to Louisiana. I stayed there for 18 months working on the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and doing quality control on oil rigs. Then I came back home and worked as a weld inspector at the Perry Power Plant. I didn’t know what I wanted to with my life and I couldn’t afford college, so a buddy and I decided that we’d enlist in the military. We entered the 82nd Airborne Division just a few weeks after each other .
Tell us about your experience in the 82nd Airborne.
I started out at Fort Bragg, went to Fort Carson in Colorado, served a year in Korea and served in Grenada and Desert Storm. In the 82nd Airborne, everything we do is maintenance and logistics. As a platoon sergeant, I was responsible for logistics of the platoon and for maintenance on all the equipment and facilities. The military also gave me leadership skills I’d use for the rest of my life. I left the service in 1992, moved back home to Painesville and a job opened up at Riverside Local Schools in Painesville to be a custodial and maintenance supervisor. I got the job and started my career in operations.
What attracted you to this position in Shaker?
From the outside, everyone looks at Shaker as the district of choice, so that’s what attracted me to it. I’ve learned that Shaker has many of the same challenges as other districts, from an operations standpoint, but the difference here is that we have the resources and quality people to get the job done.
You have hearing aides in both ears. How long have you had hearing loss?
At home, we joke that I have bionic ears. I’ve worn hearing aids for about ten years. I have high end frequency loss from exposure to loud noises when I was in the military. In emergency situations, you don’t always have the time to put on hearing protection, so I was around a lot of explosions and aircraft. Plus, I grew up hunting and back then, no one thought about making sure that children wore headphones. But my hearing aids are terrific. I can connected them to my phone and to my radio. The technology is pretty amazing.
How do you like to spend your time when you’re not here at work?
I live on 10 acres in Leroy with my wife, Angela and our three dogs. We love being outside, so we spend a lot of time doing landscaping and other home repairs. We also love spending time with our grandkids when they come visit from Florida. And I’m working toward a four year degree in Organizational Leadership, so I’ll be taking classes at Cleveland State this year. It’s a busy schedule, but I do love my job. I feel very lucky that I get paid to do something I enjoy so much.