Retirement Ceremony Questions?

The We Honor You retirement ceremony is held once each year (in the springtime) at one of our high schools.

• Retirees are sent invitations approximately six weeks prior to the ceremony date. Invitations are sent to those whose HR-2 forms have been submitted to the Department of Human Resources at least a month prior to the event date.

• We ask retirees who plan to attend to submit a profile along with their RSVP. We will use this information to create a profile that will be read aloud during the ceremony. The profile can include a funny or meaningful career memory that you would like to share; a short note from a colleague, parent or supervisor; or a brief career description. The profile should be between 50-75 words

• The evening begins with an hors-d'oeuvre reception. The reception is where you can socialize, eat, and sit with your guests or other friends. We suggest business or business casual dress for the event.

• The ceremony begins typically runs between 1.5 to 2 hours. To show respect for all retirees, we ask that guests and retirees do not leave before the end of the ceremony. 

• We recommend that retirees bring no more than six guests. If you are inclined to invite more, feel free to contact us ([email protected]) to discuss your situation.  We will do our best to accommodate everyone. 

• During the ceremony, retirees are honored from least to most years of service. Seating is graduation style: retirees all sit together in alphabetical order by years of service so we can bring them onstage in the correct order. Guests can sit in any unreserved seats, but will not be able to sit with the retiree. 

• No stairs are involved during the ceremony. We use the area in front of the stage for the ceremony. All retirees come to the front when their name is called. A member of the leadership team reads their profile as they receive their gift and have their photo taken with the superintendent. The retiree then shakes hands with all of the school board members.

• If you cannot attend the ceremony, we will be happy to send you your retirement gift and a program with your name in it. We will mail it to the address we have on file unless you let us know otherwise. We will start shipping gifts out a few weeks after the ceremony. A framed certificate is given to those with 9 or fewer years of FCPS service. A plaque is given to those with 10-24 years. An engraved clock is given to those with FCPS service of 25 years or more. 

• The ceremony will air live on Red Apple Channel 21 at 7 pm on the event day. Rebroadcast dates will be listed in the program. Typically the ceremony is shown once a week for one or two months following the event. 

• Don’t see an answer to your question here? Contact: [email protected].