Levy County Commissioners Rock Meeks, Lilly Rooks, John Meeks, Mike Joyner, and Commission Chairman Matt Brooks honor retiring Road Superintendent for his loyalty and dedication to the county.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
When Kelly Jerrels first went to work for the Levy County Road Department in 1981 Ronald Reagan was in his first year as president of the United States.
Few people owned personal computers back in those days and the worldwide web wouldn’t be invented for another nine years.
Some members of the current Levy County Commission were children when Jerrels first began working with the road department.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean was serving as a county commissioner when Jerrels was promoted to road superintendent. He had the honor as a commissioner of making the motion to give Jerrels the new job.
On Tuesday, Dean, now the county coordinator, announced Jerrels retirement after 39 years with the road department.
“We don’t have any gold watches or anything like that, but we appreciate you,” Dean said.
Jerrels and his wife Debbie, also a county employee, are retiring together.
A popular road superintendent, Jerrels received loud applause as he walked up to accept his retirement gift. Debbie Jerrels and family members joined him.
He will officially retire on June 30.
Dean joked that Kelly and Debbie Jerrels have worked for such a long time with the county that old habits were difficult to break.
“Debbie told Kelly the other day, hey, don’t forget to schedule your vacation in July so we have the week off,” Dean said, drawing laughter.
Jerrels turned to County Commission Chairman Matt Brooks to make one correction to his introduction. Brooks had said Jerrels had 38-plus years on the job.
“I have 39 years,” Jerrels said.
Brooks acknowledged the mistake.
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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting June 16, 2020; Posted June 18, 2020
