Sailor honored for public service

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JACKSON CENTER — A 42-year employee of the village of Jackson Center was honored Monday on his retirement.

Approximately 60 people gathered for a luncheon at the Family Life Center in Jackson Center to honor Kevin Sailor of Jackson Center for over 42 years of loyal service to his community. The luncheon was attended by village officials from Jackson Center and neighboring communities, co-workers, family, and friends, all who came to recognize Sailor for his many years of service and celebrate his retirement and the end of a long career as water and wastewater superintendent.

Public service is a family tradition in the Sailor family, Sailor’s father, Richard D. Sailor, was the village’s first administrator; a position he held from 1968 until 1991. Early on in his career Richard saw a need to expand and improve the efficiency of the wastewater treatment plant and the infrastructure in a growing community that had lots of issues concerning poor drainage of surface water runoff and waste from septic systems and sewage lines; future planning revealed lots of work would need to be done to facilitate those improvements.

“Dad was looking for someone to assist Walt Gerke who was the waste water superintendent at the time but was having trouble finding anyone to fill the licensed position. Though some were interested, no one wanted to go to the trouble of getting the specialized schooling required to do the job; he suggested I look into getting certified as it would be a great opportunity for anyone looking for a challenging yet rewarding career. I took his advice, finished my schooling and applied for the job, and the rest is history. I worked under Walt’s supervision for 9 years then took over as superintendent when he retired.”

Kevin Sailor noted there has been a multitude of challenges over the years during his stint as a village employee but overall it was a very enjoyable experience.

“There have been so many changes its unreal, with each passing year came new rules and regulations as to how our system should operate, it required a lot of change, patience and planning but I was blessed with a good number of great people to work with, I worked side by side with our street and electrical departments both of which helped immensely in planning designing and making the changes necessary to expand and improve our system. I really loved my job and never really worried about what the job paid because I enjoyed working on things that would benefit our community.”

Sailor said he learned a lot over time and had no idea how diversified the job was when first taking the position.

“There were a variety of tasks that really kept the job interesting; some involved specialized equipment, some entailed a working knowledge of biology and chemistry, and then there was always the business end of things which involved documentation and reports; that part of it has grown a lot with government regulations but fortunately there are computer systems to help document all that information” Sailor said. “When looking for solutions to problems I always tried to do the best I could and though I didn’t always win every argument, and wasn’t always right, I still enjoyed the challenges and the learning process.”

When asked what he would miss about no longer working for the village there was no hesitation in Sailor’s reply.

“Without doubt the thing I will miss the most is the interaction with all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure to work with over the years including co-workers, vendors, and the great folks who live and work in and around the village of Jackson Center; I get emotional at times just thinking about such a wonderful time in my life coming to and end. Dad was right it has been a very rewarding 42 years and during all that time I never went home disappointed or discouraged by the people I worked alongside, not everybody can make that claim and I’m so thankful for the caliber of people I’ve had the privilege to work for and with,” he said.

Sailor also expressed his appreciation for the support and encouragement of his wife, Debra, and daughter, Elizabeth, over the years noting it was always nice to know that no matter what challenges he faced while at work that at the end of the day he could rest in the shelter of their dedication and unconditional support in the home.

After the guest of honor and others in attendance enjoyed a pizza buffet for lunch, Jackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz presented Sailor with a bag of snacks and other goodies that included a barbeque marinade sauce for cooking out, an industrial-sized bag of Jolly Rancher watermelon candies and a lot of other tasty treats including a gag-gift of wasabi peas and wasabi sauce for the grill, both of which Sailor noted he would gladly share with others or give away as neither was very high on his scale of favorite things to eat. In presenting the peas to Sailor, Metz noted he had originally worked under Sailor’s supervision at the waste water treatment plant but ended up being Sailor’s boss when he later landed the job of village administrator. Metz mischievously noted that the wasabi peas were a payback for the harsh working conditions he suffered under Sailor’s supervision. Sailor was also given a gift card by village co-workers for one of his favorite places to shop, Olde English Gun Shop.

Metz then offered a good-bye handshake and shared kind words of praise and thanked Sailor for all his years of faithful service, Sailor returned the compliment. Sailor then mingled with the crowd sharing handshakes, hugs, well-wishes and goodbyes; there was a collective indication of happiness for his situation coupled with looks of sadness concerning the fact they would no longer see each other on a regular basis.

At the end of the luncheon, after most of the crowd cleared out and things settled down a little, Sailor approached Metz. Then, in a bittersweet moment marked with a tone of hesitation, Sailor automatically reached down along his side as he had done over a hundred-thousand times before and pulled the ring of work-keys he used in the day-to-day affairs from his belt and attempted to hand them over to Metz saying “Well, I guess I won’t be needing these anymore.”

Metz held up his hand as if to say “no thanks” and then declined the offer noting it was not “quittin’ time” yet; patting Sailor on the shoulder he then jokingly said he could turn the keys in only after he got the rest of his work done. Sailor grinned, said thanks, and clipped the key ring back into its familiar resting place on his belt one last time, he then headed outside to finish off the rest of his last day on the job.

As for priorities on how Kevin plans to spend his time after his retirement Sailor noted he may take on a little part-time work for a company that specializes in staffing part-timers to work in his field of expertise. He also plans to do a lot more fishing at Indian lake as well as occasionally visiting a secret fishing hole in Canada and spending a little time at the gun range for a little target practice.

As for day to day activities he observed that he looks forward to catching up on some chores around the house and spending more time with his family.

“You know what they say; God and family first, I’m very blessed in both areas and thankful for all the little things and the joy they offer,” he said.

Kevin Sailor, retiring water and wastewater superintendent for the village of Jackson Center. Sailor retired after providing over 42 years of service.
http://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/08/web1_Sailor.jpgKevin Sailor, retiring water and wastewater superintendent for the village of Jackson Center. Sailor retired after providing over 42 years of service.

Kevin Sailor, left, looks on as Jackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz reminisces about fond memories of working together.
http://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/08/web1_SailorMetz.jpgKevin Sailor, left, looks on as Jackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz reminisces about fond memories of working together.

By Matt Clayton

For the Sidney Daily News

The writer is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.

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