I first met James Emery in May of 1996, when we were both running for the school board for the first time. We sat together at a table in the high school auditorium during a Meet the Candidate event with five other candidates, answering questions such as, “which is better whole language or phonics.” At that moment, I could never have imagined that thirty years later we would still be serving together on the MACS Board of Education.

Today, it is time for me to say goodbye to my dear friend Jim as a board member and to wish him well. Before doing so, I would also like to present him with this certificate from the board for a commemorative brick on the high school front walkway—bricks that, as many of us recall, were the subject of several long board meetings and many headaches.

In addition, James F. Emery has been selected as the Proud to be MACS recipient for July 2026. I would like to share a brief history of Jim’s life and service. Jim is a lifelong resident of the Village of Mexico and was among the first students to attend Mexico Elementary School and Fravor Road School.

He graduated from MACS in 1971 and then attended Hobart & William Smith College, where he earned a degree in political science in 1975. He later obtained a paralegal degree in real estate from Adelphi University and worked for five years in the abstract and title insurance field. In 1981, Jim was hired by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, and he retired in 2010 as a reactor operator at Nine Mile Point Unit 2.

Jim was married to Mickey, who sadly passed away in March 2007. Together, they raised two wonderful children, John and Elizabeth, both MACS graduates—John in 2009 and Elizabeth in 2011. This past March, Elizabeth and her husband welcomed a daughter, Millicent Yuet Mei Ng, known as Millie, making Jim a proud grandfather.

On July 2, 2013, Jim was elected President of the Board, a role he has faithfully held until tonight, his final meeting. I asked Jim to share some of his favorite memories.

Favorite memory as a student at MACS:

He has two: “First, being selected to be Editor-in-Chief of the 1971 Mexiconian by my classmates. It was a high honor, especially since I had no particular journalistic skills other than being a good student, friendly, and somewhat organized. My other favorite memory was being selected to my Junior Prom Court. I was not an athlete, musician, or brilliant student, but I always felt I was friendly. Perhaps, that has been and always will be my greatest virtue. I do want to say that it was easy to be friendly in our class because a certain mutual friend would never allow cliques or other anti-social behavior to occur! Looking, back, considering that no one in our class came from what I would call a wealthy background, I am proud that so many members of our class went on to be lawyers, engineers, educators, labor leaders, successful business owners, and even nuclear power plant operators!”

Best memory of being on the Board:

“This is a difficult one as I can barely remember what I had for breakfast. Maybe the dedication of the Avery Skinner Auditorium that your epiphany saved us from the barrage of architect paint suggestions and even more trips up the scaffold than we had already taken (I still chuckle at the dust on Sean Bruno’s dark suit after one of his trips up the scaffold.) The dedication brought community members and dignitaries to view our gorgeous auditorium – a very proud moment indeed!”

What he will miss most:

“Working with dedicated Board Members and staff who are trying their best to provide our students with the best facilities and opportunities that our poor, rural District can provide. As I always say, I want our students to have all that the wealthier school districts provide for their students.”

What he will not miss:

“Late night (early morning) meetings and confrontation on hot-topic issues (like COVID masking).”

What he plans to do with his extra time:

“I will continue to be the primary caregiver to my 98-year-old mother. I hope to devote more time to my retirement hobbies of yoga, golf, tennis, and ballroom dance. I also would like to resume trying to play a musical instrument and maybe take up pickleball. I also have a basement full of papers from 30 years of being on the Board that needs shredding.”

James, you will be deeply missed by all of us. On behalf of the entire community, thank you for your 30 years of dedicated service to the students of MACS. It is with great pleasure that we, the Board, recognize you as our Proud to be MACS recipient for July 2026.