During his 26 years of service to Lapeer Community Schools, Dennis King made friends wherever he went. From East High School, to Irwin, Maple Grove and, ultimately, Turrill Elementary — Dennis built positive and long-lasting relationships with students, parents and colleagues.

“Dennis was always there to reach out with a helping hand,” one colleague said. “Many nights he stayed beyond his time and volunteered to lead school activities or just help make a difference in students’ lives.”

Dennis always defined his job in the broadest terms. A custodian is someone who looks after something. In his case, he looked after an entire school and everyone in it.

It’s an all-encompassing job description that he took very seriously.

“Our building looks and feels great when Dennis is in it, ” another colleague said. “He’s hard-working and compassionate about his job and the people at Turrill.”

When the idea was floated to create a school mail system so students could send encouraging notes to each other, it was Dennis who jumped in to build a mailbox to go in the hallway.

It didn’t matter what it was: a shoe to be tied, a coat to be zipped or a Chromebook cart to be organized — Dennis was always there.

One would be hard-pressed to find a more popular person with the students at Turrill than Dennis. He was a rock star custodian and someone the students couldn’t wait to see every day.

For his years of service to the students and staff of Lapeer Community Schools, we recognize Dennis King.

You are incredibly deserving of this award and we wish you the best in your retirement.

Thank you, Dennis!