Joe Hickox took his seat on the Casey-Westfield Board of Education for the first time in April of 2017. On Monday evening, May 5, he sat in that seat for the last time. After serving 2 terms on the Board, Joe decided not to run for re-election this past April.
Reflecting on his decision to run for the School Board back in 2017, serving the C-W schools seemed like a natural thing to do. After all, both of his parents are highly esteemed educators with long tenures at Casey-Westfield. “I was drawn and motivated to be a part of the Board by both, having kids in the District and having parents who worked in the District.”, explained Hickox.
Though he will no longer be spending his time pouring over policy recommendations, budget proposals, or building improvement projects, Joe has plenty on his plate to keep him busy. He will no doubt spend some more time with his wife, Chis, and their two children, Callie and Chase. Callie is a 2024 graduate of Casey-Westfield High School who now attends Greenville University, where she also plays in the Band. Chase is an active 5th grader at Monroe. There are lots of ball games and band activities in his future.
When asked to share what he feels was the greatest challenge of his tenure on the Board, he didn’t need to think very long, “Our biggest challenge we faced was learning how to navigate a national pandemic (COVID).” It is therefore no surprise that navigating the pandemic was among his top accomplishments as well. “I would say the two significant accomplishments for our board would be going through our most recent Superintendent process. Also, navigating through COVID and learning the process.”
When asked what advice he would give to future Board members he replied, “I would advise anyone interested in running for the Board to do so without an agenda.” That is good advice from a man who understands service to public education as well as anyone.
Thank you for your service, Joe, and best wishes for the future!