It's been 20 years since Janice McMillan began working at Jefferson City Hall and her love for the job has yet to dwindle.
McMillan, director of Planning and Protective Services for Jefferson City, said her interest in urban and regional planning stemmed from her love of school.
"I loved to write, I loved research. I was just drawn to geography and economics and writing," McMillan said. "It just seemed like the more classes I took ... that I was just drawn in to this new program they had called urban and regional planning because it combined all of those studies."
McMillan moved to the area in the mid-1980s with her husband, who works in hospital administration. It wasn't until the early 1990s that she began serving on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, at the urging of the former city planner, Dick Preston. In 1994, she was hired as the new city planner, after the former planner retired.
Since that time, McMillan has been through a number of reorganizations at the city. One of the most recent reorganizations was in 2011, when the former community development department was split into two separate departments - public works, and planning and protective services. Before that reorganization, McMillan's title was deputy director of planning and transportation services.
McMillan said some of her favorite parts of her job are the people she gets to work with and the opportunities she has to solve problems for people.
"As far as my staff, I can say they're the most talented people I know ... they're fabulous," McMillan said.
"I never really have a boring day ... I have some challenging days, but they're never boring."
As for life outside City Hall, McMillan has two children, Andrew and Lana, whose interests could not have been more different. She said her son, Andrew, is a drummer in Atlanta, while her daughter, Lana, is a graduate student at the University of Florida studying genetics.
She said people often tell her she has no life outside of work, but she admits to a love of gardening.
"I really have a big interest in native plants," McMillan said.
She also enjoys visiting family as much as she can.