Seward Street Superintendent Bob Miers has served 40 total years with the City of Seward and will celebrate 25 consecutive years of service this summer.
When asked why he's stayed employed with the same organization for the majority of his career, the Seward native had an easy answer.
“I love my town,” he said.
Miers initially began as a seasonal employee with the city in the park department in 1980 for three years before being hired as a full time worker, where he stayed until 1995. He left for a stint with Seward County but remained as a part-time worker with the city in the summer.
Miers came back to the city in 1997, where he's been since, save a break in 2002-2003 for a deployment in Bosnia with the Army National Guard.
He returned to work for the parks department once his deployment was over and switched to the street department as a foreman a decade ago. He was promoted to street superintendent a little more than a year ago.
The switch to the street department, Miers said, was relatively unexpected but ultimately one that led to a host of new opportunities and more chances to better Seward. The jump to the superintendent position was to ensure the position had an experienced individual who knew the importance of the role.
“There are things you see as an employee or a foreman that you want to take care of. You have a different vision than somebody else does and you want to see those things happen,” he said. “You're always hoping for that opportunity so you can get in there and make things better.”
Miers said he didn't know where his service with the city would lead but knew relatively soon in his service that he wouldn't mind a lengthy career there.
“I hoped I would be here for a while,” he said. “I really liked my job.”
He added that the longevity he's achieved now wasn't on his radar at first, considering his first position with the city was only a temporary opening.
“I saw a job posted in paper for the City of Seward parks and it was only supposed to be for two weeks to help them get caught up with stuff and I'm still here,” he said.
Miers said no matter his position, he's taken pride in the work with which he's been tasked, no matter the duty, because Seward is his hometown. His pride in Seward is what kept him returning to the city's employ after each time he left.
“I've always enjoyed Seward,” he said. “I've been in every state in the United States besides two and several foreign countries and this is home.”
With years of service for the parks and street departments, Miers' list of duties is wide-ranging and ever-changing. He can't pick out a favorite task and has too many memories to choose a favorite one but instead carries an appreciation for civic service because of its impact on a community.
“It's one of those things where we're not doing the same thing all the time. It's not a repetitive job, you're constantly doing different things,” he said. “You get a satisfaction when you're done with jobs. I can look at the parks and think of all the trees I've planted up there and all the concrete I've poured...and it's still a good feeling to know you did all those things.”
Many of the projects Miers helped spearhead and conduct were done not only out of love for the city, but with the hope that it will remain a viable and livable community for generations to come.
“Being a family man and having kids, it's the fact that you want to have a place for your kids to grow up and enjoy and maybe even your grandkids,” he said.
In a career that spans four decades, Miers has been able to see Seward grow in real time. New parks, businesses, housing additions and even streets have been built and grown during his time. Seeing the growth happen in front of his eyes reminds him why he has stayed in service with the city for as long as he has.
“Especially in the last few years, it's great to see how Seward has grown,” he said. “I go up to Pinewood to go to the ball fields, and I think how I used to walk through there pheasant hunting as a kid. Now it's all big neighborhoods and it's crazy to see how it's grown.”
The growth that's happened during his tenure with the city is admirable, he said, but he has no intentions of resting on his laurels. Miers said as long as he's in service with the city, he'll continue to work as hard as possible for the town he's known his entire life.
“We want to keep the streets in shape and we've got some big projects coming through the next few years,” he said. “We've got some things coming up that are big for us. The guys are just chomping at the bit because they love it.”
