The City of Clinton is losing an invaluable employee in Randy Parker, who is retiring after 30 years of service with the city. City Council and staff took the opportunity during the Council’s regular meeting Tuesday night to publicly recognize Parker for his service to the citizens of Clinton.
“There has been a grave mistake made,” said City of Clinton Public Works and Utilities director Jeff Vreugdenhil, opening the recognition. He jokingly noted that if Parker’s wife Belinda was such a great employee — she was previously named the city’s employee of the year — she would have never let her husband retire.
Parker is one of four men who has retired from the Public Works Department in recent years following three decades of service, joining Eddie Pietrolaj as well as Tony Steffen and Bennett Honeycutt, who both retired earlier this year.
“Randy will be missed no less than any of those men,” Vreugdenhil attested. “Randy has always been a very important part of the Public Works Department. To summarize his skill and ability as an employee of the City of Clinton, you can look through his employee file. You will not find one negative piece of paperwork in it in 30 years of service. You will find several commendations and several promotions.”
Parker started in 1987 with the city’s water division and stayed there for 30 years. He ascended the ranks to meter crew chief, the position he held up until he retired. In that crew chief role, one of the primary responsibilities is for the cutoff list, a thankless task and that can often make the giver of bad news a target.
However, in six years and one month, Vreugdenhil said he did not get a single complaint from someone whose water was turned off or on.
“I never got a call from a citizen that complained about that gentleman,” the Public Works director said. “That’s the kind of employee he has been for 30 years and the kind that you want on your team. His tenure here has been very appreciated.”
Mayor Lew Starling thanked Parker for his service, and presented him a gift on behalf of the city.
“Thank you,” the mayor remarked. “Thank you very much.”
