Two Brooksville City employees with a combined 65 years of service were honored with proclamations by the Brooksville City Council during its regular meeting on July 17.
Audrey Williams was initially hired in September 1987 as a production and inventory control technician in the City’s Utilities Division and thereafter held positions in nearly every municipal department, including in the Finance Department as an insurance and payroll technician, acting human resources coordinator, administrative assistant in the Parks Department and most recently as an administrative assistant in the Fire Department until she retired in April 2023 after being employed by the city for 35 years.
Also, during her career with the city, Williams was a longtime member of the Personnel Board, which rendered many important decisions for the employees, including review of the personnel manual and disciplinary appeals. In addition, she was for many years responsible for submitting paperwork required for the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).
During the proclamation ceremony, Williams, whose birthday was also on July 17, said that she enjoyed her 35-year affiliation with the City.
“I’ve met a lot of different people and acquired a lot of useful information and helped a lot of departments and kept the faith, and when new people would come aboard, I would always give them the same advice – ‘It’s always a better day the next day – It’s always gonna get better – it always has,’” Williams told members of the Council and the audience. “I’ve had some challenging ones – stuck with it, walked through it, and we all survived – now I am enjoying my retirement, and I look forward to the next adventure that I’m going to have.”
Also honored was Michael Dow, who retired after a long career with the Brooksville Fire Department.
Dow initially joined the Brooksville Fire Department in 1993 as a reserve firefighter. He became a full-time firefighter in 1994.
He served as a Firefighter 1 until 2001 and was promoted to the post of Lieutenant that year was promoted to the position of District Chief in 2007.
In February 2023, he received the designation of District Chief/Fire Inspector after spending several years as the City’s only fire inspector and reviewer of fire code compliance for the City. He will officially retire in August after 30 years of service.
In response to the proclamation, Dow called his career “a great ride.” He also lent his thanks to Ron Snowberger, who, before taking over the City Manager’s position, served as the City’s Fire Chief.
“There have been some downs on that ride, but someone came to the department and lifted me up, and that was Ron Snowberger,” Dow said. “My only request is that you all spend your time doing research…if you can find someone who can do what he did to me.”
