Bemidji High activities director Kristen McRae to step down Dec. 18

After 35 years in the district and five leading the activities office, McRae says family time is driving her retirement decision.

Kristen McRae announced Tuesday that she will retire from her role as Bemidji High School's activities director, with Dec. 18 marking her last day. She has held the position for five years, stepping into it on Dec. 1, 2022, after Troy Hendricks, who had run the office since 2010.

Her ties to the school stretch back to 1992, when she arrived in Bemidji. She taught English and Spanish for more than 20 years and coached boys and girls swimming and diving across 18 seasons before becoming the school's first female activities director.

During her tenure, Bemidji teams captured section titles in boys and girls tennis, cross country, girls hockey and boys wrestling, plus multiple individual section and state crowns. The school also launched girls wrestling and boys volleyball programs, and McRae worked with Hendricks on the effort that brought Bemidji into the Central Lakes Conference.

McRae said the choice came down to personal time. She became a grandmother last spring, and her husband, John, who had discussed retirement plans with her, died in June 2022 at 65. A Wayzata High School graduate who swam at the University of Nebraska and earned All-American honors in 1988, McRae said she intends to stay available as a resource for her successor.