While Jennifer Suchanek's duties as administrative assistant to Jefferson City's mayor and city administrator vary drastically, she said she has the "best job at the city."
Suchanek manages Mayor Carrie Tergin's and City Administrator Steve Crowell's schedules, answers phone calls and inquiries, takes care of the 24 city boards and commissions, writes city proclamations, coordinates various city employee activities, and "as Carrie likes to say, other duties assigned."
"She likes to throw that out there because it's kind of a little bit of everything, but that's what I like about it. It's not the same thing every day," Suchanek said. "It is a ton of things just kind of wrapped up into one. It was pretty overwhelming at first just because you don't really know what to expect, but I think Carrie and I and Steve and I, we jive pretty well and kind of get things done."
Her job also allows her to be creative, she said, especially when planning events like the city's fundraising pacesetter campaign for the United Way of Central Missouri.
Suchanek has been the administrative assistant to the mayor and city administrator since August 2016. Before that, she worked in the labor standards division of the Missouri Department of Labor and the taxation division of the Missouri Department of Revenue.
One of the hardest parts of the job is interacting with unhappy residents, Suchanek said, adding she views herself as the "first line of defense" when people call the mayor. However, she added, her experiences at the departments of Labor and Revenue have helped her defuse difficult situations.
"It's just relating to the caller and getting on their level because I don't know what's happened or transpired before they called us, so I think that's similar to when you take the calls at Labor or Department of Revenue," she said. "It's just being relatable and giving them the best customer service that we can."
One of the most important parts of the job is being patient, Suchanek said.
"Our No. 1 goal in the position that we are in when dealing with the public is to have the best customer service that we can because we're also customers in every other aspect of our lives," she said.
When Suchanek is not working, she enjoys spending time with her children and husband by the pool.