 I serve because I'm a firm believer in to who much is given, much is expected and required. I've got a love and a passion for what I do. I'm lucky enough to actually be in a job and position where I enjoy getting up every single day. It gives me a chance to give back to others in their greatest time of need. Because I believe that planning for our future is important. I enjoy people. I enjoy being out in the public. Everybody needs that helping hand at times. I think serving your fellow man is very important and if we care about one another, we serve one another and that's what all of us should be about. I think that people would feel somewhat lost unless you have people in place to show you around and show you what is available and make people feel welcome. It's about giving back to the community and also it's about helping those who can't help themselves at times. One of the most important qualities a public servant should have is being a believer. Very open-minded. Trustworthy. Compassionate. We have to be patient. We have to be kind. We have to be humble. Seeing individuals as individuals and being empathetic to what they're going through. A believer that events, organizations, programs can get better and enhance the people's quality of life. Ironically, I think the most rewarding experience and enriching experience I've had was during the flood of 2015. I saw our staff step up with servant hearts and give them themselves like I had never seen before in the private sector. That attitude of we can't fail and to pull together and deliver like they did was very rewarding. Most public servants are not doing this for any financial reward or gratitude but I do think that they genuinely love what they do to be in the work that they're in. I want a citizen's or somebody's worst day when they thought they have lost it all and they say thank you just for saving someone's life. Saving a picture or a photo or even saving an heirloom is gratification enough for us. I daily get an opportunity to connect with the citizenry that we serve and it's greatly rewarding to me and how I perceive my job myself. All the relationships and connections I've made throughout the years. Seeing those people when you're not working, when you're off the clock enhances your quality of life so much and I love every day I do it. As public servants, if we don't engage with community members, we're doing a disservice to our community as a whole because it's so important to be inclusive and to really understand where everyone is coming from in order to build a brighter future. We choose to be here, we choose to work with the City of Columbia to serve our citizens and it's a choice that we all make and we need to embrace that, enjoy that, but understand that we appreciate that very, very much. We're one team, one fight, everybody's trying to achieve the common goal which is to make Columbia a greater place. Folks get up every day ready to try to make life more pleasant for the community and everybody works hard. I can't say thank you enough to all those people because even though I'm also a public servant, I'm also being served by all those other people as well and so I'm very grateful for everything that all of us do here at the City. It's a great place to work and live.