News Releases
April Employee of the Month:
John Steeber, Night Custodian, Jane Addams School
 Cheerful … energetic
… positive. That’s how John Steeber’s nominators described him.
They also called him, “a good friend, a great worker, and a wonderful
person!”
John began working as a night custodian at Jane Addams just four-and-one-half years ago after spending 31 years in the automotive industry. He previously worked as a mechanic, ran an automotive parts store, and later worked in an automotive warehouse. He’s happy with his job change, he said, because compared to his previous jobs, he now only has to please a handful of people compared to the hundreds of customers he dealt with before. He thinks Jane Addams is a nice community in which to work. He especially enjoys talking with teachers after school hours and being with the children when he occasionally fills in during the day shift. One of four night custodians, John says the most important thing about his job is to “take care of the teachers—they have enough to worry about!”
John produces high quality work and does his job with a smile, class, and humor, even when the custodial staff is working shorthanded or he has to deal with multiple setups, his nominators said. “From donating and planting a tree in our courtyard to fixing a teacher’s boom box, John gives extra effort each night at Jane Addams. He even folds the new paper towels into a point when loading them into the dispenser each night.”
Born in Minnesota, John moved to Palatine with his family in 1965. His parents live just three blocks from the school, and his brothers attended Jane Addams. John attended Palatine High School, Harper College for two years studying liberal arts, and Triton College, where he studied auto mechanics. He and his wife, Dorothy, are the parents of two adult children: son Mark and daughter Kristen, who attended District 15 schools at Winston Churchill School and Winston Park Junior High School. John loves to travel—he’s visited all of the contiguous 48 states and is “working on the last two!” He enjoys riding motorcycles and dirt bikes, and he’s owned the same Harley Davidson since 1973. He’s ridden it to Las Vegas, Florida, and Texas. Dorothy occasionally rides with him. John also enjoys daily three-mile walks with their dog, Lucky, a now 90-pound waif they rescued after he was dumped at a rest stop in Florida.
John will be recognized at the April 14, 2004, Board of Education meeting, to be held at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, at 7 p.m.
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