Tammy Nordyke has been the financial backbone of Vandalia School District for 34 years, but if you ask her about it, she'll deflect with humor. "I tell everyone I started when I was 10," she says with a grin. "I was a child prodigy. Nobody will buy that. I just don't understand that."

The truth is, Tammy began her career with the district in 1991 and is now preparing for retirement at the end of the 2025-26 school year after what will be 35 years of service. As district bookkeeper, she manages far more than numbers—she handles HR, payroll, financial reports, bank reconciliations, and investment decisions that keep the district running smoothly.

"I do mainly the payroll, and then I do the AP related to the payroll. I do the HR. I sign the people up when they come in and go over the details of their benefits and their sick days," Tammy explains. "I work on the financial reports at the end of the month for the board. I do the bank statements, the bank reconciliations. I invest the money."

A 1982 Vandalia graduate and lifelong resident, Tammy represents deep generational roots in the community. "My parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents," she says when asked how far back her family goes in Vandalia. As an only child, she jokes that her "mom said she got it right" with just one.

Tammy's path to becoming the district's financial expert began with early struggles and ultimate triumph. In sixth grade, during what she calls her "rebel stage" when she missed 60-70 days of school, a teacher told her she'd "never amount to anything." That teacher was comparing her to a cousin who would become valedictorian. "I was third," Tammy notes with quiet satisfaction. "So I mean, I was pretty close."

Key teachers helped shape her trajectory. Shirley Campbell, John Campbell's mother, taught business and typing classes that sparked Tammy's interest in numbers. "She was a sweetheart. I just loved her. She taught business. She taught shorthand, accounting." Judy Wasmus, the band teacher, provided discipline and structure, while Sharon Ladegi made Tammy "a fan of English" and spelling through yearbook work.

After high school, Tammy pursued computer programming at Sanford Brown, earning an associate's degree in technologies that seem ancient now—COBOL, DOS, RPG—but which wired her brain for logical problem-solving. "I have a degree in computer programming," she says. "COBOL, which is no longer here. DOS, which was for a while. RPG." The business administration and HR courses that came with the program would prove invaluable in her later career.

When Tammy joined the district, she became a technology pioneer. "I brought the computers into here," she says. "They were using the Apple then. So they let me—they said, here it is. You picked the accounting software for schools. At that time there was only two. I went with the one. We've stayed with them since I started."

Her technical expertise allowed her to troubleshoot problems independently. "I could do the programming back then in DOS if I had a problem," she explains. This combination of financial acumen and technical skill made her indispensable as the district grew and technology evolved.

The scope of Tammy's responsibilities expanded dramatically in 1997 when the business manager left. "Once we got bigger and expanded in 97, we had a business manager up until 97. And he left, and so it all got on me." Rather than being overwhelmed, Tammy stepped up, eventually training others to handle different portions of what had become an enormous job.

Tammy's personal life reflects the same stability and commitment she brings to work. She married Elmer, continuing a five-generation family name tradition that caused some tension when they named their first son Travis instead. "I wasn't very well liked by my mother-in-law for a while for changing to Travis," she laughs. Their second son Ryan, now in his 30s, sometimes jokes, "Why didn't you name me that? That was a cool name, Mom."

Both sons are Vandalia graduates who pursued different paths than their education suggested. Travis, class of 2006, studied criminal justice but became a carpenter. Ryan, class of 2011, studied building and cabinetry but works as a correctional officer. "They switched roles," Tammy observes with amusement.

Being a grandmother to five children—ages 8, 6, 5, 3, and 1.5—brings Tammy particular joy. "Four boys and then we got the girl. She runs the show," she says of the youngest. "She's a sassy pants." The children represent another generation of potential Vandals, continuing the family legacy.

But 2024 tested Tammy's resilience in ways she never expected. In March, she suffered a severe car accident. "They told me I shouldn't have made it," she says simply. "So God was with me. Guardian angel." While she was recovering, her husband Elmer was diagnosed with lung cancer. "2024 was rough," she acknowledges.

What happened next reveals everything about Tammy's character and the district's family culture. "They stepped up. The girls up front and a little help from outside, and they got the job done. I was sitting in the hospital and in rehab on the laptop." Even from her hospital bed, Tammy continued working, demonstrating the commitment that has defined her career.

The accident also clarified her retirement timeline. "I didn't think anybody could replace me till last year," she admits. Now she's training her replacement, who starts in July and will shadow her for a full year. "They tell me she's a quick learner and I'm a good teacher."

Tammy's parents, both still living, built their home next door to hers on the same property, allowing her to maintain close family connections while providing support as needed. Her father drove trucks for Chicago Bridge and Iron in Kankakee during her childhood, leaving Sunday and returning Friday, while her mother worked at the local Johnson shoe factory when needed.

Looking back on 35 years of service, Tammy sees herself as simply doing her job well. She maintains the district's only typewriter ("I can just type it a lot neater and faster"), serves as proofreader for colleagues, and continues to learn new systems as technology evolves.

"I've been through four or five superintendents now," she notes, praising current superintendent Dr. Jen Garrison. "She is great. At first I was a little intimidated, and over the past couple years, really got to know each other through everything that we've been through in this district."

As Tammy prepares for retirement, she leaves behind a legacy built not on headlines but on reliability, innovation, and quiet excellence. She introduced computers to the district, managed its finances through decades of growth and change, and proved that sometimes the most important work happens behind the scenes.

"We are a family," she says of the district. "We take care of each other when one of us is down." In Tammy Nordyke's case, the family took care of her when she needed it most, just as she had taken care of them for over three decades. It's a fitting end to a career defined by mutual support, unwavering dedication, and the understanding that true service often goes unnoticed but never unappreciated.