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Jan Johnson and Greg McKenzie
Jan Johnson and Greg McKenzie

Retirements: Many Wonderful Years of Service

Ron Attig - 44 years;

Ann Attig - 12 years;

Jan Johnson - 18 years;

Greg McKenzie - 16 years;

Wilma McKenzie - 15 years;

Charles Self - 16 years;

For more on Ron, Ann, and Charles's service at Nazarene Bible College, please see articles in this issue of The Torch.

Here are some thoughts on Jan, Greg, and Wilma that were shared at their Retirement Lunch this past April held in Strickland Chapel in Colorado Springs.

Jan Johnson was hired in the business office 1999 when Marty Butler was the Vice President for Finance.  Jan worked part-time as an NBC receptionist at one point.  But her main jobs were first in accounts payable and then accounts receivable.  She enjoyed her position as accounts receivable specialist because of the opportunity it gave her to interact with our students.  She loved to help students achieve their financial goals with payment of their student accounts.  She always provided a listening ear which endeared her to many students.

Two words that describe Jan personally are laid-back and creative.  Carol Crippen provided an illustration of the “mellow” side of Jan.  As Carol said, “When I first came here the department was “intense” and I would hear Jan go “QUACK QUACK.”  For the longest time I thought that was weird and finally asked her about it.  She said, “Well, when something or someone gets to me, I think, “QUACK QUACK,” like, “Water off a duck’s back.”  That was Jan taking life in stride.

Regarding her creative side, Jan made beautiful, hand-made, detailed cards.  Another outlet for her creativity was her green thumb.  She could not throw out a plant or a cutting.  The Business Office had a tendency to look like a greenhouse; thanks to Jan’s skills.

Jan and her husband, Jerry, will be retiring to Phoenix, Arizona.

Wilma McKenzie worked at NBC for over 15 years.  She was originally hired as a housekeeper in January 2002.  She was promoted to oversee the custodial area in 2007.  Wilma has a personal work ethic and standard of cleanliness that carried over into her responsibilities at NBC.  Our guests and visitors often mentioned the clean appearance of the building interiors when they were on our campus.

Wilma always had a heart and love for the young people who worked for her over the years.  One illustration of that was David Joslin. David started working for Wilma while still in High School and continued on through his college years.  Wilma (and Greg) took a personal interest in him, as they did their employees, and supported and encouraged him.  One of the reasons David applied to work at NBC and was accepted, was the relationship he had previously with Wilma and Greg.

Wilma always considered NBC a ministry.  She felt blessed by working at NBC.  She recounts how many wonderful people she met over the years that she would never have had the opportunity of meeting without working at NBC;  she is grateful for that.

Greg McKenzie was hired November 2001 under Joe Smith. Greg was originally employed as a security guard and then in the area of maintenance.  In 2007, Greg was promoted to Director of Physical Plant and Security.

Greg brought master mechanic skills to his job and the desire to reduce costs through preventative maintenance.  Greg loved taking care of problems, and in his position as physical plant director, had ample opportunity to do just that, throughout the extensive, Colorado Springs’ campus.

NBC is thankful for the impact that Jan, Greg, and Wilma made in our students and the NBC community through their respective jobs over their many years of service.

Published: 11/10/2017

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