Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
According to a September 2018 news release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that workers had been with their current employer was 4.2 years. In stark contrast to this trend, Evelyn Chancy, the school secretary at Madison County High School (MCHS), has been on the job for 50 years. Chancy, a Madison native, began her career at the old Madison High School, not long after she had graduated from there. Chancy attended North Florida Junior College (now North Florida Community College) for two years after graduating from Madison High School. Chancy worked as a bookkeeper for the school for 25 years before she moved into the position of school secretary.
Watching Chancy in action, one can see that she handles the multitude of tasks she faces on a seemingly constant basis with the skill and precision of a well-oiled machine. Chancy manages to take these challenges on with grace and a genuine smile on her face. "She is indispensable," said Career and Technical Education Coordinator Paula Ginn of Chancy. "She [Chancy] is the 'go to' person here at the school, and has been for many years. She was here when I was in school."
The fact that she has seen many former students become parents of students in the halls of MCHS is nothing new to Chancy. "I have seen generations of students here," said Chancy with a laugh. "In many cases, it has been students and then their children who become students here." This is brought home by the fact that Chancy's daughter, Cathy, is an employee at MCHS and her grand-daughter Alanna, is a 10th-grade student at MCHS.
Over the years, Chancy has seen many changes at the school, but the one thing that remains constant is the feeling she has for the students and staff. "I love my job, especially the students and all the people here [at MCHS]," said Chancy.
Evelyn has been married to Marion Chancy for 49 years. The Chancys have two grown children and seven grandchildren. At the moment, Chancy has no immediate plans to retire.