CHEBOYGAN — It’s late Monday morning and Marty Mix sits in his office chair with energy running through him.
Only this time, he’s about 30 miles away from a place he’ll always call home.
Mix, a longtime principal, athletic director and coach at Onaway , is in Cheboygan to start off a week in his new position as secondary principal at the high school.
Of course, he’s excited about the new opportunity he's decided to take on. But it didn’t come easy for Mix, who said goodbye to a school system he's impacted for nearly a quarter of a century.
“I don’t know if there’s a word that I can put forward other than it was a very tough decision,” Mix said. “Twenty-three years of my professional career has been (in Onaway), on top of being a student there, and I guess it helped establish who I am. Once I got in to see the building and meet the people and got to learn more about the area, it helped make the transition so much smoother. Everybody’s been so welcoming.
“It’s amazing how kind people have been right off the bat.”
Mix’s decision to join Cheboygan Area Schools comes following a long-term tenure at Onaway, where he also served as a testing coordinator and on several committees and councils.
With a strong support system around him, Mix feels he made the right choice.
“When this opportunity came about, and I looked into pursuing it, talking to my kids, talking to my wife, making sure, and when I decided to pursue it, and then was offered a position, this was the next step, this is where we’re going,” Mix said. “Of course, my kids were 100 percent on board, my wife was, too, and it’s going to be different.
“It was the right time to take a chance at something like this.”
There will certainly be changes for Mix, who said he won’t be involved in coaching during his first year at Cheboygan. For several years, he coached multiple sports, most notably cross country, basketball, and track and field.
At the same time, he believes his athletic background will be a major plus in his new job.
“I’m excited to get to learn a lot more about what they do here, specifically, instead of a rivalry-type scenario,” Mix said. “We played (Cheboygan) in everything in the past, so you got to know the coaches, and many of their coaches here are on staff, so that was a welcome piece, too, seeing a lot of the familiar faces you coached against are now colleagues. The coaching piece is going to be tough to give up."
Speaking with passion like he normally does, Mix said he looks forward to meeting many news faces in Cheboygan.
From someone who built an impressive resume in Onaway, he also made sure to thank those who allowed him to make a memorable impact in such a small community.
“Everything that I was a part of over in Onaway was beyond impactful for me in so many ways, not only personally but for my kids, for the networking buildup it gave me, too,” Mix said. “I’ve met so many amazing people and experienced so many things over the years, so my time in Onaway was definitely outstanding.
“They were amazing to work with.”
Another key addition
Mix isn’t the only new faculty member at Cheboygan High School.
Joining Mix is Ben Wilson, who was approved by the school board for an assistant principal position on Monday.
Previously working with Olivet Community Schools, Wilson knew plenty about the Cheboygan area prior to accepting the position.
In the end, he believes it was a perfect match.
"My wife and I have been coming up here for 10 years. We have in-laws that have a spot between Mackinaw and here, and we fell in love with the place,” Wilson said. “What I’ve seen so far from people I’ve talked to and on the phone, through driver’s ed and coaches — these people are really down to earth and willing to help, so I think it’s great.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: 'It was the right time:' Mix excited for new position as Cheboygan High School principal
Most Popular
Comments / 0