CICERO — Over the last 20-plus years, Toni Brauchle has seen thousands of students graduate from Cicero-North Syracuse High School. As of January 2022, Brauchle will be celebrating a graduation of a different sort: her retirement.
After serving as youth services coordinator at the CanTeen since 1999, Brauchle is retiring. Her last day is Dec. 17 and she officially retires the following month.
“It’s time for the changing of the guard,” Brauchle told the Star-Review.
Cicero Parks staff held a small gathering Sept. 29 at the CanTeen to honor Brauchle and her longtime colleague, Jody Rogers, who retired as parks director in 2020. Thanks to donations from the community and help from the Cicero Highway Department, the parks department installed a seating area and steel fire pit dedicated to Brauchle and Rogers.
Amy Crowley, assistant youth services coordinator, paid tribute to Brauchle at the Sept. 29 event.
“I have been extremely, extremely fortunate to have learned from such a dedicated and knowledgeable youth development coordinator,” Crowley said. “In my years with you, I have witnessed your undefeatable commitment to this center, to the teens and to the community as a whole. You have gone above and beyond both within the CanTeen hours and without the CanTeen hours to support the young people and support this community.”
Brauchle and Rogers thanked each other and the greater Cicero community for making the CanTeen and parks programs a success.
“Each and every one of you makes us who we are,” Brauchle said.
“We definitely didn’t get to our points in our retirement ourselves. You all had something to do with that,” Rogers said.
While Brauchle said she and Rogers requested a low-key event with no speeches, she added that she was happy to celebrate with her friend and former colleague.
“I’m glad that I got to greet the well-wishers with Jody Rogers,” she said. “Working under her was both an honor and a privilege for sure.”
Brauchle’s work with local youth predates the CanTeen. She volunteered with a group called Community Connections that focused on helping teens make healthier choices.
“I have two boys, but I happen to be the older sibling of someone who struggled with addiction,” she said. “Our family struggled to manage all of that so I wanted my two boys … and other families to have resources.”
In 1999, the teen center opened thanks to a grant from the American Red Cross. Three years later, the town of Cicero brought the CanTeen under the umbrella of its parks department.
Over the years, Brauchle has seen teens of all backgrounds, personalities and gender identities come through the CanTeen’s doors, but even 20 years later, young people still seek the same thing: acceptance for who they are.
“They are just so genuine. They’re so fun and they’re just trying to figure stuff out,” she said. “They all were looking for a home away from home, a place in the community to learn social skills.”
That “home away from home” has come full circle for Brauchle as CanTeen alumni come back to share their successes and sorrows with her.
“We had this couple that came in … with their baby. They started dating at one of our leadership events. This is what it’s about,” she said. “I’m seeing kids whose parents were some of the originals.”
During her tenure at the CanTeen, Brauchle was instrumental in bringing the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament fundraising juggernaut to Cicero. Julie LaFave, then a Cicero Parks employee, introduced the Macker tournament to the Friends of the CanTeen.
“It’s been sad that we haven’t be able to do it for two years but I’m glad we made the decision to not do it because we don’t want to put anybody at risk and that’s a lot of kids in close proximity,” Brauchle said of COVID-19 forcing the CanTeen to put Macker on hold.
Brauchle also brought the Banff Mountain Film Festival to North Syracuse to raise money for the CanTeen.
“I’m most proud of the fact that we have been able to keep this afloat and keep this successful and moving forward for over 20 years and hopefully for many more years to come,” Brauchle said. “When kids come back years later and say, ‘This was my home away from home,’ then we’ve done our jobs.”
Now that Brauchle has spent 23 years caring for Cicero’s kids at their home away from home, she’s looking forward to spending time with her family.
“I’m going to chill out. I’m going to take a breath,” she said. “I have a granddaughter down in Virginia who’s a little over a year old. I’m looking forward to being able to pack up and go see her when I want.”
Brauchle said she is excited to see what is in store for the next chapter of the CanTeen, but she is handing over the reins to Crowley.
“I can’t wait to see where it goes, but it’s going to be from a distance,” she said.
