Schwedler grateful for second career

When Charlie Schwedler retired in 2015 as Bullock Creek School District superintendent after more than 30 years working in education, he felt a little lost not being around kids every day.

Two years later, after becoming executive director of Senior Services, he embraced a whole new set of “kids.”

“When I first left Bullock Creek, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I done? ‘ I had such a hole in my heart,” Schwedler said in an interview at the Trailside Activity and Dining Center at the corner of Saginaw and Dublin. “Then I came here — and it got filled right back up.”

Indeed, for Schwedler, a self-described “people person,” dropping into the dining room during lunchtime on a given weekday at Trailside is similar to his visits with students at the Bullock Creek High School cafeteria as superintendent or as principal before that.

“It feels like I’m walking into the lunchroom at Bullock Creek High School. They have their seats (where they always sit) just like the kids at Bullock Creek did. Sometimes it feels like I’ve never left school since I’ve been in kindergarten,” he joked.

Schwedler was reluctant to even apply to Senior Services in the first place. It took some convincing by another former superintendent, Meridian’s Doug Fillmore, to bring him around to realize how fulfilling the new position could be.

“Doug was on the steering commitee for finding a replacement (for executive director), and he contacted me and said, ‘You ought to think about this.’ I said, ‘Doug, I’ve worked with kids all my life. What would I want to do this for? ‘” Schwedler recalled.

But after doing some research and seeing for himself what Senior Services is all about — “I think I would have been brokenhearted if I hadn’t gotten the job,” he admitted.

“It’s been a match made in heaven. I didn’t think I could ever love anything as much as I did Bullock Creek. But I did. I’m that lucky,” Schwedler added.

On a very personal level, he’s thankful for the connection with people that his work at Senior Services provided him after his longtime wife, Sue, died in 2018.

“Being here, and being able to work with people and make a difference, it kept me going, kept me engaged. It kept me alive,” Schwedler said.

In his education career, Schwedler, 65, made stops throughout the central part of the Lower Peninsula. He grew up in Bay City and graduated from All Saints High School, earned a teaching degree at Michigan State University, and taught at multiple Catholic schools early in his career.

After earning a master’s degree at Central Michigan University, Schwedler served as athletic director at Chesaning High School and principal at Lake City High School.

His next stop was Bullock Creek, where he was the high school principal for 16 years and superintendent for five years.

“(Superintendent) Mike Freeland hired me at Bullock Creek. Tom Gilstad later was the superintendent. I always looked up to those guys,” Schwedler said.

After retiring from Bullock Creek, he served as director of the United Way’s Community Advancement Network until joining Senior Services in 2017.

The common thread running through all of Schwedler’s stops has been his appreciation of people.

“I’m so fortunate. I’ve always been surrounded by great people who are really professional and care and always want to do their best job,” he said. “I’ve been blessed, absolutely blessed.”

Not surprisingly, some of the parents of Schwedler’s former students are now clients at Senior Services.

“We have a good time reminiscing about those days,” he said.

Senior Services Board of Directors President Marisa Hernandez has served on the board for most of the time that Schwedler has been the director. She said Schwedler knows how to steer people in the same direction.

“He’s a really passionate person and a really strong leader,” she said. “He does really well with guiding his team toward achievable goals.”

And a leader who listens is often going to be successful.

“We always feel really valued and heard. He’s a really good listener and communicator,” Hernandez said. “Probably the best thing he does as director is he has a great ability to build strong relationships and partners in the community, which builds trust and respect among people.

“I think he really finds it fulfilling,” she added. “When you love what you do, you have a tendency to be able to build better relationships.”

Kevin Schwedler said his dad simply knows how to talk with and how to treat people. It’s a skill that transcends career paths.

“He’s a people person. He gets along with everybody, he listens to everybody, he has a great sense of humor,” said Kevin Schwedler, who is the athletic director of Frankenmuth High School. “Even when people are down, he finds a way to get their spirits up.”

This characteristic, Kevin said, has “rubbed off” on himself and his sister, Sarah Fogal, both of whom graduated from Bullock Creek High School.

By understanding, trusting and supporting the people he oversees, Kevin explained, his dad brings out the best in them.

“He’s just always been one to find a way,” Kevin said. “When they’re short drivers or they need extra cooks, when times are tough, when people are grinding it out, he finds a way to appreciate them. He’s always had employees’ backs. He gets the most out of people.

“If you’re on his team, he’s going to be the best teammate you have.”

Just like the superintendent that he once was, Charlie Schwedler is able to juggle a lot of things.

“He’s dealing with transportation, the business side of things, and also the recreation time — the euchre games,” Kevin noted. “As superintendent, he was dealing with transportation, personnel, and he was always hanging out in the cafeteria with the kids. It all comes back to how he’s able to handle all those aspects with good communication and good spirits.”

‘Older adults,’ not seniors

Other than using the term in the name of his organization, Schwedler said he tries to never use the word “seniors.” He said it leads to underestimating what older adults can do.

That’s the term he and many of his colleagues use instead — older adults.

“We have some 60-year-olds who are pretty frail. But we also have 80-year-olds who are very active. (Using the term ‘older adults’) basically is to combat ageism,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this for me — they’re no different than the kids I worked with. I go out and talk with them and mess with them and they mess with me, just like I did with the kids (at school).  

“People are people and want to be treated with respect and dignity.”

Managing Editor Dan Chalk writes about education, business, sports, the military, and interesting people and events in the Midland area. Email him at chalk@mdn.net.