MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After 30 years with the city, Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department Director Joe Kirchner will retire Aug. 3 and he will leave a far larger and better department than it was when he started in 1983.

However, he’s quick to point out that any accolades he gets primarily belong to the people he says he’s been privileged to work around and the stability of the city’s government, including its city councils and three mayors (Joe B. Jackson, Richard Reeves and Tommy Bragg) and three city managers (Bart Fite, Roger Haley and Rob Lyons).

“One thing I’ve been most proud of is the people,” he said. “We’ve had a great staff all the way from the front line employees up to the city council and mayor.”

Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg praised Kirchner’s long and dedicated career and bid him a fond farewell.

“Joe Kirchner has been a "steady hand on the tiller" for our Water and Sewer Department through some of the most difficult and rewarding years of water quality, waste water and storm water infrastructure growth,” he said. “He has been an outstanding example of excellence and persistence when it comes to public service for the health and safety of our residents and industry.

His foresight and ability to get the job done have been critical to the continued success of our community business and residential health,” he added. “My congratulations on a ‘Job Well Done’.

Kirchner’s list of accomplishments and recognitions is long. It includes such titles as membership on the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Legislative Committee in 1990, its program committee in 1987, assistant association secretary and treasurer from 1992 to 1998, winner of the George Warren Fuller Award in 1998, Professional Engineer of the Year in 2011 and a member of the National Association Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004.

He’s also been Middle Tennessee Chairman of the Tennessee Water Quality Managers Association and a member of the Water Environment Federation.

“The City’s growth and expansion would not have been possible without the corresponding growth and expansion of the water and wastewater facilities,” Murfreesboro City Manager Rob Lyons said. “Joe has presided over this period of growth and dedicated his career to making sure Murfreesboro was poised for the future.  Joe has been a class act and we are proud of the accomplishments of his team.”

Kirchner said he’s been thinking about retiring for several months but “there comes a time you just have to say it’s time. He would like to stay in Murfreesboro when he retires because it’s proven a city that’s been just right for him and his family.

‘Joe K.’ and his wife Cathy have two sons, both MTSU graduates, he said. Kyle, 30, earned his MBA from MTSU and is the oldest. Ryan is 24 and only recently earned his MTSU degree.

“Murfreesboro is a good place to raise kids,” he said.

In his upcoming retirement, Kirchner says he wants to remain active and is putting together a list of other activities he’d like to pursue.

“I want a purpose-driven retirement,” he said.

Those purposes include remaining active in the industry through its professional associations, to begin exercising more and more regularly and volunteer for work with non-profits like the Red Cross or his church, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

“If there is a disaster somewhere,” he said, “I’d like to go and assist or I might do some consulting. I just want to look around and see what is the best fit for me.”

Kirchner joined the city as MWSD assistant director in 1983 after a stint with the engineering firm Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon right out of college where he had earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University.

After earning his B.S. degree in Engineering from UT Nashville where he attended classes at night, he took over as MWSD Director in 1985.

“I have been blessed that I've had two jobs,” he said. “When I was at Western Kentucky, I sent out one resume' and got hired by Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon where I worked for eight years.”

He jumped from the private sector to the public when Doug Miller, MWSD Director at the time, asked him to consider joining his staff

“I was the first assistant director,” Kirchner chuckled. “I worked for five years and never left.”

He’s always been a hands-on kind of guy, he said, and doesn’t like to ask people to do anything he wouldn’t’ do.

His new job was definitely a good fit for that.

“It was good experience for me,” he said, “in that I learned a lot about the operations of municipal water and sewer systems.

“It was more detail than I would have ever gotten working for an engineering firm,” he added. “W.B. Ray (Superintendent) was retiring so I was taking over what he did.

“He just put me out there inspecting lines,” he said. “It was great experience (and I learned),” he said.

While building a water line, he got down in the trenches like everyone else.

“I was down in there with a shovel and one of the guys next to me said, ‘I bet this is the first time a boss is (caught) working alongside an employee’.”

When he joined the system, he said, there were 11,700 customers. That number had grown to 38,300 by this last February and there are 12,000 Consolidated Utility District sewer-only customers.

The budget for fixed assets when he arrived was $40 million, he said. This year’s number is $362 million.

Improvements in technology have probably been the most remarkable change over the years, he pointed out.

“When we first started doing presentations,” he said, “we were piecing together maps and (information on hard copy) … when we did budgets, we were using a calculator and old fashioned (accounting) ledger sheets.

“Now,” he added, “we have Geographical Information Systems.”

“Joe K's is the consummate professional,” MWSD board member John Sant Amour said. “Murfreesboro was lucky to have his leadership through such a dramatic period of growth. He will leave a legacy that will be hard to follow.

We will miss you Joe K.”

Cameras that peer down sewer lines to find breaks or other problems, the blue and white vacuum trucks that crisscross the city and the state-of-the-art water treatment plant that uses membrane technology to thoroughly clean the potable water our citizens use have been key developments.

Cost-saving efforts have helped as well, efforts such as placement of completely-concrete standpipes in two locations and advanced techniques to treat the city’s waste water have also been among the developments that have made MWSD’s job easier, he said. The relatively new re-purified water system is another example because it fills needs for landscaping and more that would otherwise be filled by potable water.

One departmental need will eventually have to be addressed, he said. Though the department has extremely talented people, the need for a mentoring program or one providing apprentice-type professional development is one option to replace them.

MWSD Assistant Director Darren Gore is a relative newcomer to the department. A professional engineer by trade, Gore says he is an example of such a program and that he and Joe K. have been close.

"Joe has not only been an outstanding mentor, but an extraordinary friend,” MWSD Assistant Director Darren Gore said. “Our friendship and Christian brotherhood has and will continue to go beyond the workplace.

“He has made the Murfreesboro water and sewer department an industry leader and I'm grateful for that as we move into the future," he added.

But none of it would have been possible without the cooperation and support of the city’s leadership, he emphasized again, along with the department’s dedicated employees who made it happen.

Assistant City Manager  Jim Crumley put the accolades back on Kirchner.

“Joe Kirchner has managed the Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department in a manner that brings credit to Joe, the Department and Murfreesboro from other water professionals across the State of Tennessee and beyond,” Crumley said. “Add to that his involvement in the community through church, United Way and other organizations and it is easy to understand why Joe Kirchner is an exemplary leader.”

For example, he said, when drought struck in the 1980’s and he was visiting the Walter Hill Dam every day or so to see if water was still flowing over it (a few days it wasn’t), the city’s leadership supported building an auxiliary water line to Percy Priest Dam.

Becoming a bit introspective, Kirchner mused a little about Earth Day and the celebration coming up April 21.

“You know,” he said, “Earth Day came about in the sixties and it was the reason I got into this business.  I’m very interested in water quality and conserving the environment.

“When there is a fish kill,” he added, “it’s like we’re (MWSD) the bad guys but people here (MWSD) are advocates of the environment more than anyone. We're stewards of God’s creation, water. That's what we do. The water we have now is the same water we've always had and we have to take care of it.”

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WASHINGTON – After announcing his intent to retire from Congress last December, Congressman Bart Gordon capped off a distinguished career in office with a productive 26^th year in Congress.

“Looking back on the past 26 years, the beliefs I brought with me from Tennessee to Congress are the same ones that I am leaving with,” Gordon said. “I have always believed the best way to get things done is by working together with civility, cooperation and common sense. My experience has taught me no

party has a monopoly on good ideas.”

The son of a farmer and schoolteacher, Gordon was named chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee in 2007, becoming Tennessee’s first full committee chairman in 30 years.

This year, Gordon passed a reauthorization of his landmark bill, the America COMPETES Act, through the House of Representatives and Senate. The bill protects America’s economic competitiveness by investing in science, technology, engineering and math education and research. Gordon also used his leadership to shepherd through new bills to support nuclear energy research and improve the country’s response to oil spills.

Gordon continued to draw inspiration from constituents. A national leader in the fight against meth, Bart authored the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act to make it harder for meth producers to access the materials they need to make the dangerous drug.

“My best ideas have always come from home,” Gordon said. “Over the years, insight from Middle Tennesseans has helped to ensure workers keep their jobs while managing a family emergency, reform the student loan system to save taxpayers millions of dollars and help more students afford college, and put America on the path to energy independence.”

Helping constituents cut through red tape has been one of Gordon’s top priorities throughout his time in office. With the help of his staff in Murfreesboro, Gallatin and Cookeville, Gordon has continued to ensure local veterans receive the benefits they deserve and helped them obtain the medals they earned during their service to our country. He has helped local schools and community programs work through the federal grants process and assisted thousands of individuals to resolve issues with Social Security, disability and other needed benefits.

Gordon thanked his constituents for their support and inspiration over the years, and encouraged them to stay engaged in the work of Congress when Congressman-elect Diane Black transitions into the office on January 3^rd, 2011.

“Throughout the past 26 years, your thoughtful advice has provided inspiration and guided my every decision,” Gordon said to constituents.

Educated in Rutherford County public schools, Gordon graduated with honors from Middle Tennessee State University in 1971 and later received his law degree from the University of Tennessee.  He served in the Army Reserves from 1971-1972.  Gordon is married to Leslie Peyton Gordon, who is a partner with Korn/Ferry International, and they have one daughter.