SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – Amid a festive backdrop of Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis, the Bonita Unified School District community said a final aloha and farewell to longtime Board of Education member Glenn Creiman during a retirement ceremony on Dec. 11 at Lone Hill Middle School. Creiman’s 21-year tenure on the Board was defined by his unwavering desire to do what was right for Bonita Unified students.

Creiman made a lasting impression on the District, which saw the four-time Board President as honest, kind, humble, and devoted, with a homespun civility that put people at ease. During Creiman’s years on the Board, he oversaw two bond measures that helped finance three new gymnasiums, the Bonita Center for the Arts, a new District office, and many other modernization projects. In his tenure, the District also improved its relationships with the cities of San Dimas and La Verne; achieved its highest-ever scores on state assessments and mitigated learning loss from the pandemic; expanded its career technical education offerings; and more.

Superintendent Matt Wien presented Creiman with the District’s highest honor, the Bonita Purpose Award, while current and former administrators and local government officials joined friends and family to regale Creiman for his patience, grace, vision, authenticity, and wit.

“Bonita Unified has had the great fortune to receive the steady leadership and counsel of Glenn Creiman for decades,” Wien said. “Glenn’s presence in Bonita has mattered in ways big and small. He may be the most photographed man in the District, after having conferred diplomas to more than 17,000 graduates, none more gratifying than the two he presented to his own two children.”

Former Bonita Unified Superintendent Dr. Gary Rapkin and former Board members Chuck Coyne and Patti Latourelle were among the many celebrants to honor Creiman, which included current Board members, City of San Dimas and La Verne mayors and councilmembers, Bonita Unified executive cabinet members, union representatives, school site administrators, students, and family.

“During Glenn’s 21 years as a Board member, he has shown all of us what a caring school board member looks like,” Rapkin said. “Glenn showed his dedication to the District by ensuring in a thoughtful, open manner that students would always be the highest priority.”

Creiman has been a San Dimas resident since 1987 and worked for 35 years as a Los Angeles City firefighter – 23 of them as a captain – before retiring in 2016. Prior to being elected to the Board, Creiman served as a classroom parent volunteer, school site council member, and Parent Teacher Association president. It was during these years as a volunteer, listening to the concerns of teachers and staff, that Creiman realized that he could make a bigger impact in the District by serving on the Board.

Creiman’s daughter, Lauren Creiman, remembers a father who worked to raise funds to buy playground equipment for her elementary school, chaperoned a middle school leadership retreat and Key Club field trips, and took the time to listen to every stakeholder who stopped him in the grocery store to discuss their concerns.

“Somehow my dad, with the support of my amazing mom, managed to be there for all these moments, big and small. It was the act of constantly showing up and putting in the time and hard work to make a difference that I remember the most,” Lauren said. “My dad has always been a champion for those who don’t fit in a box, whether it’s a teacher who approaches things with a different perspective or a student who doesn’t fit the traditional path. Thank you, dad, for all you’ve done for me and the thousands of Bonita Unified students who have come before and after me. I love you and appreciate you.”

Creiman, who was well-known for wearing Hawaiian shirts, was honored by BUSD Nutrition Services, which made customized sugar cookies, one that said “Aloha to Glenn,” and one with a shirt adorned with hibiscus flowers. Bonita Unified’s award-winning culinary arts students served up Hawaiian-themed hors d’oeuvres such as ahi poke nachos and baby short rib onigiri.

“I’d like to thank you all for being here and thank my wife, Dolores, and children for all the heavy lifting they did when I was a first-time candidate. I’d also like to thank the staff and parents at Gladstone Elementary and Lone Hill who first encouraged me to run for the Board,” Creiman said. “On departing, I ask all involved at BUSD to put aside their egos and agendas and remember it’s not about you or me. It never was. It was, is, and always should be about the students.”

PHOTOS:

BUSD_CREIMAN1: Bonita Unified Board of Education member Glenn Creiman, center is joined by former superintendent Dr. Gary Rapkin, left, and current superintendent Matt Wien at his retirement celebration at Lone Hill Middle School on Dec. 11.

BUSD_CREIMAN2: Longtime Bonita Unified Board member Glenn Creiman is celebrated by members of the La Verne and San Dimas city councils, adorned in Hawaiian shirts and leis as a nod to his signature style, during his retirement celebration.