Elise Kirkland marks 40 years as city employee

Elise Kirkland stands guard over one the buses used as part of the Madison Assisted Ride System. She is director of the program as part of her duties for the City of Madison. She recently celebrated her 40th anniversary as a city employee. RECORD PHOTO/BOB LABBE

MADISON- Elise Kirkland could be called “The Great Ambassador For Madison.”

The City of Madison employee recently celebrated her 40th anniversary for working for the city where she was raised and has nurtured her own family – her husband Marc and their two sons, James and Brian.

Working for one employer for 40 years is usually enough to make anyone consider retirement and the life of leisure, but not Kirkland. “As long as my health holds up and the City of Madison wants me, I plan to keep working,” said Kirkland from her office at Dublin Memorial Park. “I have no plans to stop as long as I feel like working.”

Her 40-year journey actually began nearly 43 years ago as she began working as a temporary playground employee during the summers of her high school years. Upon graduating from Bob Jones High in 1975, Kirkland was hired as a typist at City Hall. She soon moved to nearby Anniston but returned to her home turf in Madison and was rehired by the City of Madison in January 1977.

In 1980 she was promoted to a position at the Madison Recreation Department, where she remains today. “When I first began here, we had just seven employees, but today, we employ over 50,” said Kirkland, who now serves as Recreation administrative supervisor and oversees the office of the department.

In her office she is surrounded by mounds of paperwork that she must tend to, though much of her work is now handled by computers. Her surroundings also include lots of history about her, the department and the City of Madison.

“Growth. That’s the biggest change since I began working for the City,” said Kirkland. “The influx of people from all over the world is certainly much different than it was 40 years ago. Having the Madison City Schools System was also a huge change. There are more places to eat now than before and, oh yes, the traffic congestion. That’s definitely a big change from before.”

In 2008 she was asked to assist in the new MARS (Madison Assisted Ride System) transportation program, which the City of Madison organized to assist those with disabilities make their necessary travels throughout Madison. She even takes the duties of being a bus driver when needed by the program. Those duties of MARS are just part of her normal working day.

Her other duties with the Recreation Department include assisting the director, processing all payments that come through the department, handling all files and reports, managing the front desk and its personnel and, when needed, answering numerous phone calls and greeting visitors who drop by the multi-faceted recreation facility that was built in the 1990s.

“All but our basketball program are now hosted by parent associations, and that’s a big change through the years here in our department,” added Kirkland, 59. “I know we are strapped for land to accommodate our sports programs that continue to grow.”

Kirkland has received an array of awards and honors from her dedicated work in recreation. Some of those awards have come from the state recreation organization. She is proud of those honors and shares those with others who have supported her and her four decades of being an employee for the City of Madison.

Throughout her career, she has worked for five recreation directors and eight mayors, not to mention the countless city council members and county commissioners with whom she has had dealings in her 40 years with Madison.

“When I greet new people here, I tell them Madison is a great place to live,” she said. “I should know. I’ve been here most of my life.