The city of Lawrence mission statement says a lot about why Lawrence is special: “We are committed to providing excellent city services that enhance the quality of life for the Lawrence community.”

Since 1979, I’ve been privileged to work with city employees whose commitment to this mission has been inspirational and a source of pride.

Here are some examples:

Every community expects safe drinking water. In Lawrence, we get that and more through the extraordinary efforts of people such as Charlie Gray, Clinton Water Treatment Plant manager. His attention to detail is second to none.

No community wants to suffer the ignominy of defaulting on regulatory requirements for wastewater discharge. In Lawrence, lab technicians such as Carolyn Woodhead bring a professional knowledge and 21 years experience to work to make sure we are in compliance.

Not all communities can administer their Housing and Urban Development rehab programs with the same professionalism and humor that Larry Hamm has been sharing for 33 years for the city.

Parks get mowed and maintained in other cities, but Lawrence benefits every year from the exceptional work of professionals like Rowan Green and his crews.

It’s doubtful other cities can compare with Lawrence when it comes to the attention to detail and years of professional experience that Jerry Thomas brings to every public works project he inspects.

A common theme throughout each of these examples is professionalism and experience. The residents of Lawrence benefit from an abundance of both in the employees who treat the water, arrest the bad guys, pick up the trash, fix the streets, plant the flowers, inspect the buildings and put out the fires. Doing this work in the “fishbowl” of public scrutiny that comes along with being a public servant is a challenge that we try to meet daily with courtesy and efficiency. Then there are the city employees who aren’t in the public eye – those folks who pay the city’s bills, make sure the payroll is timely and accurate, keep the computers running, and take the minutes of the myriad of meetings held monthly by public officials. These support services and the employees who perform them contribute to the quality of life our community enjoys as much as the “high-profile” jobs.

I think the pride city employees take in their work, whatever work that may entail, is one of the reasons Lawrence residents can take pride in their community.