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Pic shows a man sitting in a chair with a long line of elementary school kids in front of him. Once you realize who he is and what they're waiting for, you'll be smiling

Pic shows a man sitting in a chair with a long line of elementary school kids in front of him. Once you realize who he is and what they're waiting for, you'll be smiling

"What a guy."

Many parents and staff members have reached out to me and said the man in this picture is a custodian at Alan Shepard Elementary School in the Bourbonnais Elementary School District in Illinois.

According to a Facebook post accompanying the viral photo on June 3, the man, Steve "Mr. Steve" Weidner, "reached Rock Star status as he autographs yearbooks for his 'fans'!"

Superintendent Daniel Hollowell told TheBlaze in an email the picture was taken during the second grade recess by teacher Carrier Doig.

The school's principal Shirley Padera told WGN-TV Mr. Steve "pays attention to the kids … he knows who they are."

"He goes above and beyond," Padera told the news station. "He's loved by all the students and the teachers. He’s great!"

Original post follows.

I don't know who, I don't know where and I don't know when. Heck, I don't know if it's even real, but if this really is the line at an elementary school for having the school custodian sign your yearbook, I know that it's just about the sweetest thing I've seen all week.

View post on imgur.com

Often under appreciated members of school staff, custodians play a vital role in keeping things tip-top and shipshape.

In this case, the photo shared on the social news site Reddit, which quickly made it to the top of the site's front page, being voted up by readers, appears to show the most popular person at the school.

"I think it's awesome an employee with no obligation to be a part of these children's lives has made such an impact they're willing to wait in line just for his signature. I would like to know how many teachers had students line up for their signature. What a guy," a Reddit user going by gagewhite wrote.

This isn't the only sweet instance of students treating custodial staff right recently. In California, a custodian retiring after 25 years at his post was given an epic sendoff:

If you know who, where and/or when this took place, I'd love to learn more backstory about the touching photo. I can be reached at lklimas@theblaze.com.

Front page image via Shutterstock.

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