As I shared in my last article “The Team” can be incredible things. The bigger the vision or dream the better the team you will need.

We have a great Mayor and Council that has a vision to move this city forward just like so many of our City’s Founding Fathers.  All knew the better the players on the team the better the team’s potential for success.  We have empowered our city team members to achieve more and help the Team to continually improve.  Today I continue to put credit where credit belongs- with the people that get the job done.  Now I would like to continue to introduce you to some more of our winning Team members…..

Eric Morris, Director of Public Works Department, came aboard with the City Team in April 2010.  His immediate goal was to improve productivity and contact with citizens requesting work.  I am so proud of all of our Public Works team’s accomplishments.  They have made our City work, flow, and look better than ever.  This team has received State recognition for the first time by being awarded the Mississippi Municipal League Excellence Award for Public Works Department for cities over 10,000 in population.  The “team” spirit exists in every facet of the Public Works Department.

Diane Miller, Director of Planning and Zoning, is located at the Intermodal and Tourist Center on Highway 11.  This location is a one stop for all your building, permitting, zoning, and code enforcement needs.  Recently Tom Milar has been added to this Team to work as our Code Enforcement Officer.  Tom has helped the City get rid of some of the unsightly properties and unwanted clutter in the City.

Police Chief Bryan Dawsey has over 27 years in law enforcement.  His team of highly trained Nationally and State accredited officers and civilian employees continue to make the City of Picayune, which is a Certified Retirement City, a safe place to live, work, worship and raise children.  Chief Dawsey carries on many successful programs instituted by himself and previous police chiefs.

Fire Chief Keith Brown has worked over 22 years for the City of Picayune. He is not only our City’s Fire Chief but also the City’s Emergency of Operations Director. He and his team are a vital part of our community, helping with community projects, speaking out to the community about fire safety and storm readiness.  The Fire Department recently received a review with the State Bureau.  In conjunction with other city departments, the Fire department was able to improve its fire class rating from a Class 6 to Class 5.  These city departments are to be commended for their hard work and Team effort in achieving this class rating improvement.

In the last three years the Picayune Municipal Airport has made many advances.  We have been able to have the Airport Terminal Building open 24/7 to the aviation public, Airport Road was overlaid with new asphalt and new signs and flowerbeds were installed around the Airport Terminal building.  This could not have happened with the dedication and hard work of Airport Manager Andy Greenwood.

Last but not least, I would like to take a minute and Thank a very important person on our team, Kris Landrum.  Kris is my Administrative Assistant that has served with me for more than 12 years.

She goes above and beyond of what her duties and job description require of her.  I couldn’t manage the team without her continued support and encouragement.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to introduce you to the team and for privilege and honor as serving as your City Manager.

 

By Jim Luke