Saugerties retiree “all tied up” with next adventure

Thomas Miron proudly displays his neckties, which are up for sale as a fundraiser for the Town of the Saugerties Animal Shelter. (Photo courtesy Kristine Conte/Ulster BOCES)

Thomas Miron has worked for the Saugerties Central School District for nearly 31 years as a substitute, Physical Science and Earth Science teacher. He has also coached a variety of sports, including soccer, track and field, wrestling and gymnastics. In just a few short days, Miron will become a retiree and will become “all tied up” with his next adventure. Miron said that teaching has been a very rewarding career choice, adding that although teaching can be demanding, it also offers the opportunity to make a genuine difference in a student’s life.

Miron says that he will miss his students, but he won’t miss knotting a tie around his neck every day – even though he is a big believer in dressing the part. Ties are a mark of professionalism, he believes. Who, he wonders, would have thought that a relatively small piece of fabric could make such a big impact?

As his career comes to a close, Miron is still making an impact by selling off his neckties as a fundraiser for shelter dogs. “Rescuing one animal won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal, and maybe yours too,” he suggested. Miron, whose own two dogs were adopted from a shelter, has been selling his neckties in the teachers’ faculty room, hoping to sell all of them before the school year is out. He will then donate all the proceeds to the Town of Saugerties Animal Shelter.