By Chris Cunningham
The Scene staff
Claudia Perry started working in Forest Park community relations in 1985 as a substitute for a woman on maternity leave.
The new mother decided not to return, giving Perry an opening.
“I think I’d really like to have this job,” she told Vernon Crawley, who was president at the time. “I really like it here.”
She sure did.
Perry served as campus spokeswoman for 28 years. Her last day was Friday.
She’s moving to the Cosand Center, which is St. Louis Community College’s headquarters near Busch Stadium. She’ll serve as coordinator of college relations.
Perry, 56, of Belleville, Ill., essentially is switching places with Susie Edmonton.
“It’s a way to bring fresh ideas to a job,” Perry said. “I’m sure (Edmonton) would have a lot of ideas here that I wouldn’t, and I’d have a lot of ideas there that she wouldn’t.”
Perry spent the past two weeks packing and cleaning out her office on the second floor of the Student Center.
Dozens of employees stopped by to cry, laugh, congratulate her and give her hugs.
Many had praise for the job she has done.
“Well, she’s fabulous,” said Counselor Kathleen Swyers. “She’s a go-to person on campus. She knows how to get things done efficiently.”
Perry has worked 32 years for St. Louis Community College. She was at the administrative center on Wilson Avenue the first four years.
Perry has seen many changes over the years at Forest Park, including the arrival and departure of nine presidents.
She was closest to Crawley and Henry Shannon because of their long tenures.
“(Crawley) was a wonderful man,” she said. “He was a mentor and a father figure. He put up with a lot from (me). It was a great time. He was truly a leader.”
Perry also has faced plenty of challenges as the person in charge of public relations.
She remembers a pipe bursting in 1997, filling the print shop with water and eventually flooding the entire maintenance floor.
“(It was) one of the most exciting but traumatic (times),” she said.
Perry has developed many lasting friendships and made many memories at the college.
She was pregnant at the same time as Rachel Brandon-Straub in Allied Health. Both of their sons are graduating from University of Illinois this year.
Perry’s son, Johnny, 21, will receive a degree in electrical and computer engineering.
In the early days, both of her sons accompanied her to work.
“They’d play in the president’s office,” she said. “They’d roll down the hill at A tower. They’d have the fountain on by theater, and they’d run through it.”
Perry’s younger son, Paul, died of cancer in 2004. He was 11.
Campus Police Chief Richard Banahan told a story that sums up Perry’s contribution to Forest Park.
“She got an award (for excellent service) and the president (Morris Johnson) couldn’t remember all of the things she did because she did so many,” he said.
Lauren Roberds, former senior manager of Central Records, spoke of Perry’s reputation for careful planning to make sure college events went smoothly.
She remembers Perry being unhappy at one event because burnt cookies were being served.
“I even have a picture of her holding up a burnt chocolate-chip cookie,” Roberds said. “… She always wanted things to be really nice.”
Perry also liked to have fun. One year, she poured burgundy wine into fruit punch at a staff party.
What will Perry miss the most about Forest Park? Students, faculty and staff.
“I love the people here,” she said. “A wonderful bunch of people. It’s going to be hard to leave.”