Lincoln Elementary School secretary Laurie Shay will be retiring in December after 13 years in the building’s main office and 33 years of service to Jamestown Public Schools.

The main office of any school building can, at times, be as busy as Grand Central Station.

It’s a skill to keep it all in order — and Laurie Shay has done just that and more at Lincoln Elementary School over the last 13 years. Shay, the school’s secretary, will retire at the end of the calendar year after 33 years of service to Jamestown Public Schools.

“Laurie Shay is the epitome of a school secretary,” said Lincoln Principal Katie Russo. “She is able to multitask and shows such grace under pressure. The main office is a hub of activity in a school and Laurie makes managing all that is happening look effortless.”

For Shay, education has really been a family business — her father, Primo Belluz, was a longtime JPS administrator.

“At the time, my father was a JPS principal and suggested I take the civil service exam,” she said. “The school schedule would allow me to be home more with my young children. As my career turned out, I ended up being at the same three schools that my father had been at.”

She began as a secretary in the JHS assistant principal’s office in January of 1990, transferring to Jefferson Middle School as guidance secretary in 1994. When the school secretary position opened up at Lincoln in 2010, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I’ve enjoyed my entire time here at Lincoln,” she said. “We have a great staff, a great leader, and incredible children who make this such a joyful job.”

Organization is key to success in the main office — and one tool has helped keep Shay more organized than any other.

“Post-It Notes!” she said. “I could not survive without them or my desk calendar.”

Russo has worked with Shay since becoming Lincoln Principal in January of 2013. In that time, she has also learned a lot from her colleague.

“I will not only miss her work ethic but her sense of humor, her friendship, and her passion for high expectations and efficiency,” she said. “We are more than just colleagues, we are like family. We have worked together for the past 10 years and she has taught me so many things about being a principal — I often tell people how good she makes me look by handling so many of the little details of running a school.”

In retirement, Shay looks forward to spending more time with her two grandchildren, her family, and her three dogs. She’s also hoping to travel.

But, she will miss the people who have helped make her career a special one.

“I will miss all of the lasting friendships I have made over the years and watching the children develop and grow. “