LEADING LADIES

A seat at the table with the female directors of City Hall

Pam Beasley, Director of Parks and Recreation, AKA “Mother Nature”

Adrienne Royals, Director of Budget and Financial Services, AKA “The Jelly Bean Counter” Ola Terrell-Jordan, Director of Human Resources, AKA “The Therapist”

They come from various backgrounds and parts of the country, with a range in age, education and tenure. But these four municipal government department directors say there is a common pride that comes when introducing themselves. “City of Germantown” always follows their titles. With a collective 70 years of experience working for the City, they share mutual respect, a commitment to integrity and one common goal: Excellence, Every Day.

Lisa Piefer, Director of Procurement and Risk, AKA “Legal Eagle”

Germantown Magazine (GM): What are your primary responsibilities?

Pam Beasley, Director of Parks and Recreation: “Our department focus is making places and spaces for the community. That's what we do. Whether it’s a passive park where people just want to hang out and relax or walk on a trail, to kids that want to play sports with their friends, to people who want to enjoy a community event. We make it possible. We have a park system that's very broad-based in terms of amenities. We have 29 parks, and those include neighborhood parks, community parks, special use parks such as disc golf, croquet, the 10 acre working farm, and linear parks like the Wolf River Nature Area and the Greenway system.” Ola Terrell-Jordan, Director of Human Resources: “I get to work with all department employees, from the beginning to the end. Beginning, we recruit. Our main goal is to recruit the best of the best that want to join the City of Germantown. I get to work on mentoring those employees once they come in. That entails working with the supervisors and directors on evaluations, whether it is acclimating them to the position or promoting them as they grow. Also, when they get to that point in their life cycle, retirement, as well. So, we are there at the very beginning with the employee, and at the very end.

Adrienne Royals, Director of Budget and Financial

Services: “I’m responsible for the fiscal health and management of the City. You want to be in a strong financial position so that we have the money to do all these programs. We make it possible for the other departments to do what they need to do and have the resources to do it. On the budget side, it's more of the strategic planning part of ‘Where do we want the resources to go?’ And on the finance/accounting side is ‘Did they go where we wanted them to be?’ There are checks and balances everywhere. It’s almost a complete cycle of ‘Did we do what we said we were going to do?’ Creating a plan, then checking to be sure we followed through with the plan.” Lisa Piefer, Director of Procurement and Risk: “I spend the money. If every one of these folks are putting things together, hiring people and managing the money, I’m kind of the cog that says, ‘I'm going to be able to get it for you.’ We're going to insure it. We're going to contract it. We're going to purchase it in the most efficient, effective and prudent financial way for the City. Basically, I'm also a jack of all trades as it relates to contracts. Everybody sends me the contracts. We do risk management for the City in that we handle all the property and casualty. We also handle all the warehousing operations, and I’m the American Disabilities Act coordinator for the City.”

GM: What is your favorite project or achievement that citizens will recognize in their everyday lives?

PB: As a parks director, what's your favorite project is like asking a mom, ‘Who's your favorite kid?’ My first directive when I walked onto Germantown soil was to build a Greenway. We were the first municipality in West Tennessee to construct the linear concept of connecting a park to another park, and then moving into a business district and connecting that to a neighborhood. OTJ: I’ve been in my position since April of this year, but with the City for five years. When I applied, I had not only an interview with the HR team, but I had an awesome conversation. What Germantown was about and what the expectations are, and I just fell in love with it. We want to recruit the best of the best. So it’s quality, not quantity. That’s my day-to-day project. We can hire all day and put people in seats, but are they going to meet Germantown expectations? AR: I think we all wanted jobs that mattered. And we touch people's lives all day, and they don't know it. They drive on our streets. They stop at our stop sign. They drink our water. They send their children to schools that are part of a school system that was devised in this very room. We touch them all day long. And if we do it right, they don't really know that we're doing it so well. I just count jelly beans. LP: She’s not just filling seats. And she's really not counting jelly beans. And we aren't just putting out widgets. We eat, breathe and sleep the Germantown way. We all have professional achievements that we could talk about, but the most important achievement is that we’re in it together; we have a family here.

GM: The nights that you can't sleep, what are those stresses in your job?

AR: I worry about what happens if there's a natural disaster here. We have a lot of pieces in place now, but there is still that component of enough unassigned fund balance that could pay employees and carry us until we get federal assistance. How do you tell somebody who wants a project done, ‘We’re actually holding this just in case.’ PB: Balancing all the expectations. Our leadership teaches us that we can do anything, but we can't do everything. Yes, that is our challenge, always. It's really about managing priorities and timing with your resources. OTJ: I handle worker's comp. Most importantly, we are a family and if one of our people is hurt, that's what keeps me up at night. LP: Ensuring someone doesn’t get hurt, making sure we have the proper equipment for them, that we've got them in the best position to do their job. And if we don't, that keeps me up at night to figure out how we can make sure that those guys down in the manhole are protected, and also have everything they need. ■