After serving almost 20 years on the Snoqualmie Valley School Board, Rudy Edwards is saying goodbye to his position.

Edwards ended his final meeting as a school board member on Thursday, Dec. 10. A reception in his honor is planned for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, at the Snoqualmie Valley School District Boardroom, 8001 Silva Avenue S.E., Snoqualmie.

Edwards said he is leaving his responsibilities in good hands with the current and newly elected board members.

Sharing memories at last week’s meeting, school board members presented Edwards with tokens of their appreciation and a certificate acknowledging his dedication, service and legacy on the board.

“We’ve put this off as long as we could,” said Superintendent Joel Aune. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with Rudy for the past five years, and during that time, he’s always brought to the board integrity, honesty, and a philosophy based on two principles” — responsible stewardship and doing what was best for children.

Today more than ever, board service takes courage and conviction, Aune added. Edwards possessed the courage to make the difficult and authoritative decisions that were right and good for students, the superintendent said.

When he first came into the Valley, Edwards said described the region as “a rural forest” but now it’s a “high-tech rural forest.” A forester by profession, Edwards said the board needed a new kind of member who would be able to handle the “cyberstuff.”

Acknowledging Scott Hodgins — who will be replacing him in January — and the current board members, Edwards said they were great examples of the right people who have an understanding of the current times and who can carry out the taxpayers’ business in the district today.

“We’ve done a great job with the other board members that have been on this board for the past 20 years, but now we have other things that we need,” Edwards said.

The board is only starting with the business at hand, but they now have the right people to get the job done, he added.