Two Monty Tech school committee members receive awards

FITCHBURG — Two longtime Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School Committee members were recently honored with lifetime achievement awards.

The Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) presented Bob Campbell of Fitchburg and Phillipston resident Eric Olsen with the prestigious award at the annual MASC/Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) joint conference held last month in Hyannis.

“It was a great honor to be recognized by my fellow colleagues whom I’ve worked with over the years in the service of public education,” said Campbell, who has lived in Fitchburg since 1990. “I was very humbled by it.”

He served as a Monty Tech administrator from 1996 to 2000 and then began his tenure as a school committee member representing his hometown in 2004. Campbell is finishing up his term there at the end of the year and will be sworn in as a new Fitchburg School Committee member.

Olsen has lived in Phillipston for 28 years and been a representative of the town on the Monty Tech School Committee for over 23 years.

“I am truly grateful for the school committee’s nomination and for receiving this award. It is meaningful to know that my time and dedication are valued,” he said. “We devote significant time and energy to what many see as a thankless task, so taking moments to appreciate and acknowledge one another is important. Serving on the Monty Tech School Committee…has never been about recognition for me, and it can be hard to see our work as deserving of attention since our focus is always on the students. Over the years the school committee has taught me just as much as I have contributed, making it a fair exchange.”