As a boarding school in a small, rural New England village, Proctor Academy is hard to separate from the town of Andover. Its campus lies at the geographical center of town, spanning both sides of Main Street and abutting residences on North Street, Lawrence Street, and Main Street. Buildings, fields, and the ski area are visible to all passersby. Proctor’s faculty and staff live throughout Andover, and AE/MS has been filled with faculty and staff children for over a century. The work of Proctor and the work of the town go hand in hand.

This interconnectedness spans the entire history of the school, as Proctor was first chartered to serve the town’s children in 1848. Over the past 168 years, Proctor has evolved from a small village school to a world leader in experiential education and academic support, serving families from 25 states and eight countries, including three dozen Andover residents each year. While Proctor has certainly changed during its history, our engagement with the Andover community has remained steadfast.

Each spring, Project Period groups intern at the Andover Elementary/Middle School, and throughout the year Proctor’s athletic teams run clinics for Andover youth sports teams. Proctor’s facilities are regularly shared with the community, especially during this month’s Fourth of July Celebration.

Proctor faculty and staff members play critical roles on many town committees and volunteer groups like The Andover Beacon’s Board of Directors, Andover Historical Society, Andover Fire Department, Andover EMS, Andover Recreation Committee, Andover Lions Club, and countless other organizations.

Throughout Proctor’s history, members of the community have championed this critical relationship between the school and the town. On June 8, the town lost one of these champions with the sudden passing of Heather Makechnie (Proctor parent to five graduates).

Heather first joined the Proctor community in 1985 when her husband Arthur stepped in to lead Proctor’s Dining Services team. Over the next 31 years, her commitment to the town of Andover, through her service to countless organizations in the local community, served as an inspiration to those who knew her.

It is through examples like Heather that we are reminded that community doesn’t simply “happen;” not in a neighborhood, not in a school, and certainly not in a town. Instead, community is built through the hard work, commitment, and selfless service of its members.

We each have a responsibility to steward the communities in which we live and work, and as we mourn with the Makechnie family, we challenge ourselves to follow Heather’s example of service and commit to making our community as strong as it can be.