I have said many times that Shelby County is the greatest county in Tennessee.

With more than 763,000 square miles, we are the largest county in the state. We have more than 930,000 residents, the biggest population in the state. It's a county brimming with innovation, culture, and grit, where our world famous music, food, and hospitality impacts everyone who comes here.

In short, Shelby County is special.

That's why it was a privilege to be part of the recent Thirty-Third Employee Years of Service Recognition Program, an event held to celebrate the employees who have 25, 30, 35, or 40 years of service with Shelby County.

This event honored folks like 35-year veteran employee Frank Favazza in our Division of Planning and Development, 30-year veteran employee Beverly Parish in our Human Resources Department, and 25-year employee Larry Robinson with the Shelby County Fire Department.

^{Mayor Lee Harris with 35-year County Government employee Frank Favazza}

We ask a lot of our county government employees. They serve on the frontlines and have the closest view of our community's toughest challenges. They are smart and organized and able to stretch resources. And they strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Beyond these ordinary challenges, for the last 17 months, the coronavirus global pandemic has pushed us to ask even more of our county employees.  And they did not let Shelby County residents down.

Our employees kept doing their jobs, staffing offices, driving our ambulances, and putting out fires all while managing their families’ health and safety, their children’s performance in virtual school, and their personal worries and stress. Shelby County employees kept doing their jobs, even when everything closed down and the world was turned upside down. They kept doing their jobs when we could not go to church on Sundays or go to funerals to bid a final farewell to loved ones, and couldn’t visit each other to celebrate milestones or be with friends in need.

They kept going.

That’s why I was proud to be there to recognize the more than 80 employees celebrating their years of service with the county, some who have retired and at least one who has passed away.

Shelby County is the Heart of America. Nowhere is that more evident than with the devoted employees who year in and year out, including during these unprecedented times, delivered results for this community. And for that, I thank them.

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