Nick Edson was recently the recipient of the BIG Difference Award for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Traverse City. While an outstanding Big Brother to six children over 14 years at Blair Elementary School, Nick was genuinely a mentor to hundreds. Nick gave this parting advice to the 5th Grade Class of 2015 at the Blair 5th Grade Graduation this past spring:

  1. Always walk with a smile
  2. Participate – Get Involved
  3. Have a Plan B—be prepared that things won’t go your way
  4. Own up to your mistakes—take responsibility
  5. Pick yourself up—don’t dwell on disappointments
  6. Always give someone a compliment

Nick has been a significant presence in the community. He has exceptional character and heeds his own advice given to the 5th graders he mentored. Nick always has on a smile, is involved in so many great causes in our community, is prepared for whatever he faces, takes responsibility, never dwells and is the first to give out a compliment. “One thing I love about Nick is he always introduces you as his friend” Cherryland Electric Cooperative employee, Shannon Mattson shares “whether you’ve known him 15 years or just met yesterday.” Nick is well known and well loved in this community and at Cherryland.

After 15 years with Cherryland, Nick will be retiring this January. While at Cherryland Nick took ‘the cooperative way’ to heart and truly made community and service a priority. He was involved in numerous efforts that bettered our community and all without concern for recognition. But it’s with respect and appreciation that we do recognize Nick and all that he has done.

We sat down with Nick to get his perspective on his career here and learn more about his plans for retirement. Here’s what he had to say:

Question: What are you going to miss the most?

Answer: The people. As a writer, it’s always about the people you work with, the people you work for and the people you get a chance to know when you do stories.

Question: Talk about your career highlights.

Answer: Over the span of 40 years, there were quite a few. But it started in 1976 when I was a rookie reporter for a paper near Flint and one of my first assignments was covering a fellow rookie – Detroit Tigers phenom pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych.

During my years at the Record-Eagle, I’d say being introduced to the great Ted Williams by Ernie Harwell ranks right up there, along with having dinner several times with my boyhood heroes Al Kaline and Gordie Howe.

But when I started working at Cherryland 15 years ago, I walked into a different world. I was given the chance to do volunteer work and it changed my life. I was a member of Rotary, volunteered with Big Brothers & Big Sisters, the Grand Traverse YMCA and NMC, to name a few. I tried to live Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self” and I think it made me a better person.

At Cherryland, I learned what a real team was. That is, everyone is in this for one reason – our members. I’ve never seen such dedicated and hard-working employees. It was a privilege to work at the cooperative.

My goal when I got here was to make Cherryland better known in the community for the kind of people who work here. I think as a team we made that happen and much of that was because of the leadership of Tony Anderson. He not only encouraged us to be active in the community, he also led by example.

Question: What will you do in retirement?

Answer: I’ll do some writing on a freelance basis. I’ll spend more time on E-Bay with my sports memorabilia. I’ll still do some volunteer work and we plan to travel and spend more time with friends and family. So my wife Lois and I will remain busy, just on our own schedule.

Question: Any final thoughts?

Answer: As I near the end of a 40-year career, all I can say is, “Wow, that went fast!”