Williams learning on the job as L-S AD

SULLY — Tara Williams spent 13 years at PCM. She wasn’t unhappy. She just wanted more. But whatever position she left PCM for also had to be the right fit.

“I really wanted to be an AD. I knew I wasn’t going to leave PCM for just any school because I did love my job,” Williams said.

The school she left PCM for was Lynnville-Sully. And Williams is in her first year as the school’s activities director.

“This job opened and I thought to myself ‘yeah, I’m going to apply for that,’” Williams said. “It happened really fast. I met with the administration team and I really liked it. I left with a good feeling. I liked what they were doing and what their ideas are moving forward.”

In her 13 years at PCM, Williams taught special education, physical education and health and even added fitness and student government. She also was a high school assistant softball coach for several seasons.

Williams’ interest in becoming an activities director goes way back to when former PCM High School Principal Scott Bridges was on his way out and current PCM High School Principal Kristen Souza was on her way in.

Williams began the process by helping out former PCM Athletic Director Greg Bonnett with whatever he needed.

“I shadowed anybody and everybody but specifically tried to do as many activities as I could,” Williams said. “That kind of sealed the deal. I knew I made the right choice at that point.”

Williams went back to school twice to meet the requirements to become an activities director. The William Penn University alum went back to her alma mater to get her master’s degree in sports management. She also took online courses for educational leadership through Dordt University.

“I kind of thought I could just use (the master’s in sports management) and be an AD,” Williams said. “I quickly figured out there’s more to it than that in public schools in Iowa.”

Leaving PCM was hard for Williams, who plans to stay in Monroe with her husband and two kids. The drive to Sully is not bad and she has a lot of help.

“Dan and I have a really good village,” Williams said. “Tonight, I was here for volleyball, we had a neighbor taking Grant to football, a friend taking Grace to softball and Dan was out of town for work.

“There’s no way I could have taken this job and had the time commitment to do it without the support of my husband or the village. We have some awesome friends who basically told me I needed to do it. I really didn’t want to leave PCM, but I also just wanted a little bit more.”

PCM Activities Director Jeremy Swink also played a role in Williams’ transition to Lynnville-Sully. She learned a lot about the position from Swink and he even helped her get through her first football Friday night home game.

“(Coach Swink) helped me a lot. He went above and beyond what he needed to do, and he didn’t have to do that,” Williams said. “I called him on our first Friday night home game 30 minutes before kickoff because I couldn’t get our play clock to work and he answered his phone.”

Williams said she will teach a few PE classes at Lynnville-Sully, too. Her plan for the first year on the job as activities director is to listen and learn.

“I took for granted what I knew about PCM because I was there for so long,” Williams said. “There’s a lot I don’t know about Lynnville-Sully. I need to know more. No big changes on the horizon. I just want to figure things out.

“I want to find out what’s important to the people here.”

Williams started job shadowing former Lynnville-Sully Activities Director Mike Parkinson in June. That’s right when the Hawk baseball team was setting themselves up for a run to the state tournament.

She’s also been on the job long enough to witness the volleyball team’s first regional final in more than 20 years.

The Hawks have seen plenty of success in other sports recently, too.

“Everyone is really nice, the coaches are super helpful and everything so far has been awesome,” Williams said. “The administration here is the bomb. They want to help out, but they also want to be here.

“When it comes to staff and the students, everyone is in. You won’t come to an event here and not see an administrator. Everyone works together and all the kids do multiple activities, which I love.”

A graduate of Pleasantville High School and a long-time educator at PCM, Williams is definitely a fan of small schools. She also loves the fact that Lynnville-Sully cares about academics just as much as athletics.

“I did some research and found out they are just as invested in academics as they are athletics,” Williams said. “Anyone knows around here Lynnville-Sully is a hard place to come get a win in athletics. But I didn’t know it carried over into academics as much as it did. That’s extra important to me.”