Cik leaving Libby

Lincoln County’s Chief Deputy County Attorney and Libby High School girls soccer coach, Joe Cik, is packing up and leaving Libby later this month.

Cik, who has made quite an impact on the Libby community during his five year tenure, has accepted an appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney for Montana. Cik said his new job will be very much like his posting with the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, prosecuting criminal cases. 

The decision, he said, was a difficult one to make, but career and family considerations made it the best choice.

“I’ve loved being a part of this community for the last five years,” Cik said. “It’s really tough to leave, but this is the next step in my career. It’s what is best for my family.”

Cik said his work in the county attorney’s office has helped him grow, both personally and professionally, growth which he attributed to the mentorship of Lincoln County Attorney Bernard Cassidy.

“Working in the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office has been a real honor and privilege,” he said. “The staff in the office is wonderful and Bernie is the best boss you could ask for. He has been a great personal and professional mentor and for that I thank him.”

Cyndi Miller, one of Cik’s colleagues in the county attorney’s office, said Cik will be sorely missed by the staff.

“I think I can safely speak for each member of the county attorney’s office when I say that it’s Joe’s sense of humor that we will miss most around the office,” she said. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

In addition to his professional role as Chief Deputy County Attorney, Cik has served as coach of the Libby Lady Loggers soccer team for the past five years.

“The girls and their parents have been fantastic,” Cik said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with them for the last five years. I want to thank the faculty and staff for giving me the opportunity to work with them.”

Libby schools superintendent Craig Barringer praised Cik’s work with the team, crediting him for instilling positive attitudes and a strong work ethic into his players.

“In my observations of Joe there is no doubt that he cares for the girls and makes sure they come away from each contest with a positive,” Barringer said. “In every game I have watched, the girls have played hard and that is a good tribute to the values he has tried to instill in them. We will miss his positive personality, and his strong dancing skills that he shares during Homecoming week.”

Libby High School athletic director Jim Germany also praised Cik’s work and positive outlook.

“It’s amazing to me how Joe can find a silver lining in anything,” Germany said. “We have had a cycle of low numbers of participants so he has had to field varsity teams with very young, inexperienced players year end and year out. But somehow he has always made them competitive by the end of the seasons. And most what has been most impressive is how he keeps things so positive that his girls love playing for him ... I guess it’s the “ootsaw” that he keeps teaching them.”

Cik didn’t elaborate much on the specifics of ootsaw, only to say that it is a carryover from his military service.

“It’s a Maori war chant,” Cik said. “It is a tribute to a man I served with in Iraq.”

The fighting spirit and positive attitudes of the girls he’s coached will stand as a similar tribute to Joe Cik.