GULF SHORES – Cindy Veazey, the "singing principal" of Gulf Shores High School (GSHS), is retiring after almost a decade of working at the school and more than 20 years in education.

Veazey worked at GSHS when the system was still a part of the Baldwin County Public School system, starting two years before Gulf Shores split and became a city school system in 2019.

Gulf Shores Board of Education members say they will miss her involvement in student activities and that commencement speeches will not be the same without Veazey.

"The commencement speech is where, I think, everything about Cindy's ability to connect with students shines," board member Nichole Gotschall said. "Her speeches are always personal and filled with the sense of pride she has for the graduates."

Each year, Veazey chose a song to sing during her speech that reflected the graduating class. She said this started in her first year when she was working on her speech.

"I'm a music/theatre person and so there's always a song for everything to me," Veazey said. "When I start thinking about what I want to say and challenge the class with, songs always come to my mind. It just kind of happens."

What started as an impromptu addition to a speech became something people regularly looked forward to as students and faculty wondered, "what song are you going to sing this year?"

"I'm known as a singing principal," Veazey said with a chuckle. "… I'm real with my kids and I like to personalize everything I do with them, and that's just one of the things that comes out."

Board member Frank Malone spoke on how his daughter and her friend, who will both be graduating next year from GSHS, reacted when he told them of Veazey's retirement.

"They both looked up at me and they said, 'you mean she's not going to sing for our graduation?,'" he said. "… It just hit me when my daughter and her friend said that, how impactful it really is to the kids."

Gulf Shores City School Superintendent Matt Akin also spoke on Veazey's commencement speech style.

"I remember the first graduation that I was a part of and I didn't know that she always sings a song at graduation," he said. "I didn't know that was coming but, you know, it's just another thing that makes Gulf Shores unique and a place where everybody wants to be."

In addition to commencement speeches, she also sang a different song for the faculty at the beginning of each year, she said.

Cindy Veazey and her husband singing a parody of "Islands in the Stream" for the faculty once they came back to campus after COVID-19.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Veazey's advice to students still at GSHS is to work hard, be yourself and don't be afraid to ask for help.

"Just try to be the best you can be at whatever you do," she said. "What's the thing now, 'YOLO – you only live once?' I want to say that to the kids like, 'this is your time.'"

Her advice to the faculty at GSHS and to the future principal is to stay true to the goals and core values of the school and work towards them in the "everyday little decisions."

She said one of her favorite things about the school, besides the students, was the staff and teachers and getting to see them grow in their profession. She said creating policies and structures after GSHS became a city school system brought the team together and "created a lot of trust."

Some of her favorite memories are of students finding their niche and achieving things from succeeding in classes to winning state sports championships.

Superintendent Akin said Veazey is "going to be missed" as she formed supportive relationships with all who worked at and attended the high school.

"Cindy has certainly earned the right to retire. She has. She's had a long and great career and has done so much for Gulf Shores," he said. "I hate to see her go but I certainly respect her decision."

Veazey said, in her retirement, she plans to spend more time with her family, specifically her eight grandchildren, and she would like to still support Gulf Shores City Schools when she is able.

"I decided to really slip out a little sooner than I wanted to, but it's all me, the expectations I put on myself," she said. "… I feel like it's a good time for me to walk away and watch what happens next."