Dr. Tom Edington, right, was officially installed as president of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents by Dr. Jeff Butts.

SYRACUSE — Dr. Tom Edington, who has served as superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation for more than 10 years, was officially installed as president of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents during a ceremony Friday afternoon, June 8, in the Oakwood Hilltop Banquet Center in Syracuse.

Several Indiana superintendents were in attendance, including one from Corydon in the southern part of the state near the Ohio River, as well as principals and administrators from WCSC and other staff members. A luncheon and reception preceded the installation portion of the program.

Prior to being installed as president, Edington was presented a bobblehead of himself in a more lighthearted moment by Dr. J.T. Coopman, executive director of IAPSS.

Dr. Jeff Butts, outgoing president of IAPSS and the superintendent of a school district in Indianapolis, installed the other officers in IAPSS before Edington was installed. Butts noted “good leaders should remain humble” because “we put on our clothes just like everyone else in the communities we serve.”

He said there have been too many leaders who have fallen from a pedestal because “they have gotten too full of themselves.” Leaders should never forget who they really are, he commented.

After being installed as president, Edington spoke briefly and recalled when he was a child, it was more common for kids to have a “three-legged stool” with support from family, church and school. In today’s world, family situations have sometimes become quite difficult and some kids don’t have church in their lives, “so now some just have a plain one-legged stool and that is us, the school.”

He said even though there are less resources available to help kids, it is not a time to complain because “it is what it is” and “we will try harder and be smarter” when helping children.

Edington was given a standing ovation after he spoke, thus ending the ceremony. He will serve for one year as the president of IAPSS.

Dr. J.T. Coopman, left, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, presented Dr. Tom Edington with a bobblehead.

Ben Meeks, Wawasee High School student, played the piano and sang a song.