Gulf Shores loses longtime employees to retirement
Six municipal employees, including Police Chief Arthur Bourne, with a combined 139 years of service have accepted early retirement offers and stepped down from their posts at January 1, 2010. I knew four of these six long before I was ever elected to office, and thought very highly of them, even more so now. We are fortunate as a community to have had such dedicated people serving us for so many years. They recognize that our City is rising to a new level and that we need tremendous energy and resources to get there. It is to step aside and allow the next generation of public servants to take their place. They have brought us this far and I am pleased that they are now going to get the rest they so richly deserve.
"The city of Gulf Shores is very appreciative of the many years of service and the role played by our retiring employees in the development of the Gulf Shores city government," said Mayor Robert Craft in a news release. "They were all instrumental in helping the city become the highly sought tourist destination that we are and in ensuring that the quality of life of our residents has evolved into one of the most desirable in the Southeast United States."
I could not agree more, and am personally grateful to each and every one of them for always doing whatever it took to ensure the quality of life and services that we have come to expect.
Besides Chief Bourne, the retiring employees are Special Events and Projects Coordinator Patsy Hollingsworth, Lt. Stephen Day with the Police Department, Shirley Boyer of the Finance Department, Jackie Mayo with Public Works, and Parks and Recreation Director Harold Samples. Bourne has spent 32 with the city. Mayo has been employed for 10. Everyone else worked for Gulf Shores for between 22 and 29 years.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE!