Longtime Public Works Employee Retires

One of the longest tenured employees in the City of Dalton is clocking out for the last time today. Public Works Operations Manager Maurice "Reece" Carroll is retiring after more than 35 continuous years of service to the city. 

Carroll was first hired as a Public Works employee in 1975. He left to complete his schooling, returning in 1986 to resume his career with the department in the department's traffic division. From there, he was promoted through the ranks, ultimately becoming operations manager in 2006. As Public Works director Benny Dunn noted, that position often meant that Carroll was directing the department's response to emergency situations like severe weather. 

"When winter weather hits, when anything like that comes up, the director is not in charge anymore. Reece is in charge. We look to Reece and say, 'where do you want us to go, what do you want us to do?' because he's the man" Dunn said during a ceremony Friday afternoon at the Public Works Department in Carroll's honor. 

Carroll was joined by his wife and also other family, friends, and coworkers at the ceremony Friday afternoon. During his remarks, Benny Dunn took the opportunity to show Carroll's CDL driver's license photo from 1992, noting that Carroll bore more than a passing resemblance to Billy Ray Cyrus, showing the two side by side on a video monitor. Dunn made up for the joke by presenting Carroll with a gift certificate and also two camping chairs for his upcoming adventures in retirement. 

Carroll leaves behind a legacy of hard work and dedication to Dalton Public Works, including pioneering the department's response to winter weather events. Carroll was one of the men responsible for devising the salt brine system that the city deploys before snow and ice events to help keep roadways clear. 

The City of Dalton thanks Reece Carroll for all of the years of hard work and dedication and wishes him and his family many wondeful years of adventures in retirement. We'll miss you!