Sharon Monroe had been expecting some recognition recently for her 45 years of service to the Missouri Department of Transportation, but she was not expecting that recognition to come in front of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.
Monroe, 64, of Linn, said the department has service recognition ceremonies for employees who reach milestone years of service, and there had been such a ceremony scheduled for December last year, but she ended up having to watch an ill granddaughter at the last minute and couldn't make it.
However, to her surprise, staff still wanted to recognize her service so she got public recognition in front of the highways commission at its meeting this month.
Monroe is the executive assistant to MoDOT's director and said she's worked in the director's office for 421/2 years. The other 21/2 years of her MoDOT career were in different divisions, and she had worked at the Missouri Department of Revenue for nine months before that.
Including current MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna, Monroe has worked for 11 directors, interim directors or chief engineers - as the director position used to be titled - starting with Chief Engineer Robert N. Hunter, who served from 1970-85.
"I've worked all my life" and can't imagine doing anything else, Monroe said.
Technology has obviously changed over her career, speeding up the pace of work and life, but "I thrive on that," Monroe said, not missing a slower-paced time.
"If someone requests something, I want to take care of it," and she pushes herself, she said.
Monroe said her best friend, Margie Frank, also of Linn, works for MoDOT but at the department's lab on Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. Franks has worked even longer than Monroe: 46 years.
Monroe has spent her whole life in Linn, graduated from high school there, and in 1976 - 44 years ago - married her high school sweetheart, Keith.
Together, they've raised two children, a son and a daughter, who have given them seven grandchildren.
"Those are my hobbies, my livelihood," Monroe said of keeping up with her grandchildren, who range in age from 8 months old to high school senior.
She tried other hobbies right after she got married, but she didn't like how they pulled her away from time with family.
Monroe said her mom and dad are still alive, in their late 80s, and she credits them for passing along their values to her: responsibility; treating others as one would want to be treated; saying "thank you" and "I'm sorry" - all the simple things that mean a lot but are difficult to say sometimes.
"I owe them a lot," Monroe said of her parents.
She is the oldest of seven children, with three brothers and three other sisters.
Government service also runs in the family. While her dad was a self-employed carpenter who built homes - mainly around Linn, Loose Creek and Bonnots Mill - and her mom was a factory worker, Monroe said her daughter works at the Office of Administration. She's had two sisters retire from the Missouri Division of Employment Security, and she has a brother who works for Jefferson City.
Her favorite part of her career with MoDOT has been responding to the public and employees - scheduling meetings, answering phone calls - as the compliments and even the complaints are not the same each day.
There tend to be more complaints after a snow storm, she said; people want their road cleaned sooner.
"You don't get many compliments," so she's always appreciative of when someone does take the time to give one - whether it be for a great meeting, job of getting a road plowed or a customer service experience.
People tend not to work for one employer as long as Monroe has, and she said not to overreact on bad days. She wasn't sure if it was advice or just what her own philosophy is, but she said: "Every day is a new day, and tomorrow is going to be better."
She added "usually, things always work out."