Julie Carey’s office is on the top floor of the Jefferson Building, but one of her passions is helping people take all those stairs — for a cause.
Carey, the March 2020 non-sworn employee of the month for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, is a senior office support assistant with the Division of Fire Safety’s Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety Unit.
She said the Missouri State Fire Marshal 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb “is a big passion” of hers.
On her own time, she makes phone calls and sends letters related to the event that raises money for first responders by having stair climbers step up and down the equivalent of the 110 stories of the former World Trade Center.
As part of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety Unit, Carey is part of the workforce that helps to keep mechanical systems such as water heaters, some air-conditioning units, hospital sterilizers, restaurant steam kettles and gas station soda fountains safe.
That and more adds up to more than 80,000 objects in Missouri that have to be inspected every two years by the office.
The office does not have jurisdiction in all places, but some federal buildings invite the inspectors in anyway, Carey said.
Her responsibilities include “handling all administrative aspects of boiler and pressure vessel installation permits, operating certificates, violations and invoices,” according to the Department of Public Safety’s profile of Carey in recognition for her employee of the month status.
She said she had processed about 1,200 permits so far this year, as of March 13 — about 400 more than at that time the year before. She added that was a sign of a good economy, with more things that need to be inspected being bought new instead of patches being applied to older systems.
She also handles variance requests for boiler and pressure vessel rules, takes incoming phone calls and emails, and is helping familiarize the program’s new deputy chief with the accounting and administrative functions of a new online data system.
Carey has been with the Division of Fire Safety for four and a half years, including a year in the Elevator Safety Unit.
Before that, she worked for the Missouri Supreme Court, the Missouri Lottery and the Missouri Department of Transportation — not unusual for someone born and raised in Jefferson City who also had a parent, her dad, who worked in state government.
“My parents taught me that was the normal thing to do,” she said.
Her career with MoDOT included being a road grader, laying asphalt, moving medians, plowing snow and holding a lot of signs.
“I helped with that bridge over there,” she pointed out a window to the Missouri River bridge, which she helped overlay.
Her current position “requires dealing with returned billing invoices, incomplete permit information and countless questions from the public. Instead of becoming frustrated, she is constantly finding ways to make processes more efficient and cost effective. She works tirelessly on customer service calls, while simultaneously balancing these duties with supporting field staff with vital information,” according to the Department of Public Safety.
“For years, satisfied customers have called and written to express how wonderful it is to work with Julie. One satisfied customer recently wrote, ‘Julie Carey was very helpful, courteous and professional. Any organization would benefit by having employees like her on their team,’” the department added.
“Customer service is my nature,” Carey said.
On her own time, she enjoys boating. She used to run a boat charter business at the Lake of the Ozarks.
In her family, she is the youngest of six, and she has one son and a grandson.