Wednesday will mark the last day for a city employee who has been a fixture in Emporia for almost 30 years.
Michele Rodriguez is retiring from her position as executive secretary to the city manager, a position she has held since 1989. She plans to move to Pueblo West, Colo., to be closer to her mother.
“I will miss Emporia,” Rodriguez said. “It was a great place to raise my son. I’ve enjoyed working for the city and helping the community of Emporia all these years. I hope Emporia continues to grow and prosper because it’s a great community.”
Michele started her career with the city as a police dispatcher in 1974. In 1979 she married Police Sgt. Bob Rodriguez and left the department until 1984, when she became a secretary and ambulance-billing clerk. She continued her work for the city and was promoted in 1989 to the position from which she will retire.
Her husband rose through the ranks to become chief of the Emporia Police Department. He died in 2003.
“My father passed away a year ago last summer,” Rodriguez said of her decision to leave, “and my mom is living alone out in Colorado, and so initially it was because I wanted to go spend time with her and be close to her. In the process, I’ve gotten reacquainted with an old high school classmate, and probably in a year or so we’ll get married.”
“I’ve got mixed feelings,” Rodriguez said. “I’m looking forward to taking my life in a whole different direction. But it will be hard to leave all the many friends I’ve made. I have wonderful friends here, not only through my work but through my church. That will be hard.
“But I will be back, I do have a granddaughter here in Emporia and I’ll be back to see her as often as I can. I’ll look forward to coming back and seeing how Emporia has changed, and I’ll be getting together with my friends.”
The city has hired Tracy Booth of Emporia to take over Rodriguez’s job. Booth started her training this week.