Over the few past years, you may have noticed that some renovations have been made around the Elk Grove High School campus. 

The man behind most of them is Ray Rummel. 

Rummel is EGHS’s nomination this year for the District 214 Distinguished Service Award. For the past 32 years, Rummel has been the Village Manager for the Village of Elk Grove. During his time, Rummel has been especially close with EGHS, as both of his children graduated from EGHS.

“Mr. Rummel is retiring, and we wanted to honor him for his commitment to the community,” EGHS Principal Paul Kelly said. 

The plans for Rummel to retire were announced back in October of last year. 

Rummel said he has always seen the village and the high school as partners and he has collaborated with various EGHS staff members. 

During his time, Rummel started a program to help at-risk students at EGHS to help them focus mentally and on their school work. 

Also, projects like expanding the parking lot and redoing the press box in the stadium were just a few of the projects made possible because of Rummel’s work. Rummel also helped advocate for summer jobs for high school students within the community.

“I want to give the kids real life opportunities and experiences,” Rummel said. 

As village manager, Rummel oversees the village’s public works, fire department, police department and building construction management. He is especially proud of the developments in the village’s industrial and technology parks, which are among the biggest in the country.

“I’ll miss the people I work with, some of the community development work like the technology park and seeing it finished,” Rummel said. 

Rummel thanked his colleagues and the high school for their partnership over the years and their willingness to be connected with one another. 

“Former principals like Ray Broderick, Frank De Rosa and now Paul Kelly, have always been great people to collaborate with,” Rummel said.