Cole-Dyer Award Honors Two Outstanding Employees

January 22, 2021

As the Bridgton Academy community gathered to celebrate the academic achievements of the Class of 2021, the evening included the opportunity to honor two colleagues for their remarkable commitment to Bridgton Academy through the presentation of the Cole-Dyer Award.

 

The award recognizes the contributions of two longtime BA employees: Betty Dyer and Susan Cole, who devoted a combined 59 years of their lives to advancing the mission of Bridgton. Betty served from 1969 to 1993 as the secretary to the head of school, registrar, and admissions secretary. Her daughter, Susan Cole, began in 1975 and served as the school’s bookkeeper, comptroller, and human resources director, retiring in 2010.

 

The Cole-Dyer Award was created not long after Susan retired to recognize two employees who make a significant difference in the daily working of Bridgton Academy. In addition, these employees exemplify the traits displayed by Susan and her mother: consistently displaying a high degree of professionalism, passion for their work, desire for excellence, loyalty to the school, and a personal and professional commitment to those with whom they worked. Nominations and voting for this award are employee-driven.

 

In the faculty category, Jeremy Muench was honored for his extraordinary dedication as a teacher. Colleagues describe Muench as “hard-working,” then further elaborate, “He will do anything to help his students out.” This is evidenced in the late-night office hours he keeps, the way he connects with our young men wherever he sees them on campus, his ability to tailor a high-level mathematics course to an individual student, and so much more. Jeremy recently completed five years of service to Bridgton.

 

 

Jessica Priola was chosen as the Cole-Dyer recipient in the administrator category and is well into her second decade of service at the Academy. Jessica was commended by her colleagues as “instrumental in shaping the Academy we know today: one with updated playing fields, a renovated dining hall, campus beautification efforts too numerous to list, and helped steer our Admissions team in a more robust direction when she was asked to step into that role a number of years ago. She consistently goes above and beyond in not just her work but in helping others produce their best quality work.”

 

Congratulations to these two outstanding Bridgton employees who make a difference every day!