So long, Skip: saying goodbye to “Clark’s Lorax”

Skip and Lori Jimerson at Skip’s retirement party

On September 24, Clark College bid a fond farewell to retiring Grounds Manager Skip Jimerson. The Penguin Student Lounge was filled with colleagues who’d worked with Jimerson over his quarter-century at the college.

Jimerson began his career at Clark as a custodian in 1990 and shortly thereafter moved to the grounds division. Once there, his strong work ethic and dedication helped him advance until, in 2008, he was named grounds manager.

Many people stood to share memories of Jimerson, often referring to his famously laconic demeanor. (Indeed, true to character, Jimerson declined to make any public remarks at the party.) “Skip is a quiet leader,” said Clark College President Bob Knight in his remarks. “He doesn’t talk much—he talks with his actions. He cares about this institution.”

Director of Facilities Services Tim Petta said, “In my mind, I’m going to think about you as the college’s Lorax—you speak for the trees.”

Grounds Manager Skip Jimerson and CADD Professor Keith Stansbury share a laugh at Jimerson’s retirement party after 25 years of service. At the party, Director of Facilities Services Tim Petta, not pictured, referenced the quotation on this plaue that reads, “A society grows greeat when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

Jimerson was instrumental in making Clark College officially recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for the past five years, as well as in an ongoing effort to plant state trees from all 50 states on the college’s main campus. Colleagues mentioned many other projects he’d helped realize, ranging from outdoor play spaces for Child & Family Studies to work on new facilities like Clark College at Columbia Tech Center and the new STEM Building being built on the main campus. Other colleagues praised him as a manager.

“What I most value is his gentle spirit,” said Director of Career Services Edie Blakley. “Some of our students have less-than-stellar backgrounds. Skip, you’ve always given people a second chance, and that has really touched my heart.”

There was one more colleague who had plenty of praise for him: Lori Jimerson, Skip’s wife of 26 years, who works as a fiscal specialist in Facilities Services. “I’m going to miss him as a coworker, honestly,” she said in between serving slices of cake to the gathered guests. “He’s an excellent colleague. … He’s really put his heart and soul into this place.”

Photos: Clark College/Hannah Erickson