The Washtenaw County Road Commission made a formal announcement today that long-time employees Kenneth D. Nixon, Director of Operations, and Daryl D. Muirhead, District Foreman, will retire in May. Each has 34 years of service with the Road Commission and both will retire on May 23, 2007.
Kenneth D. Nixon (left),Daryl D. Muirhead (right)
Kenneth D. Nixon
Director of Operations
“After 34 dedicated years of dedicated public service, Ken Nixon, our Director of Operations, will retire from the Washtenaw County Road Commission,” announced Steve Puuri, Road Commission Managing Director.
“As a valuable member of the top management team, it goes without saying that Ken will be greatly missed by myself and the Board of County Road Commissioners, as well as his subordinates, co-workers, local officials, and the general public whom he has faithfully served for over three decades,” stated Puuri.
“Ken has been a tremendous asset to our agency. He has been instrumental in managing our six facilities as well as the day-to-day maintenance operations. It will be hard to fill his shoes. You can’t easily find someone with Ken’s vast years of experience and extensive knowledge of our road system and maintenance operations, but we are currently advertising to try to fill his important position.”
Nixon literally began his prominent career with the Road Commission by working from the ground up. The first two positions he held were as a temporary employee during the summers of 1971 and 1972, working for the Buildings & Grounds Maintenance Crew. In June of 1973, Nixon was hired as a full-time employee on the State Trunkline Crew, and primarily worked as a Rest Area Attendant at the US-23/North Territorial Road rest area. Nixon transferred to the Heavy Equipment Crew in February of 1974, and was appointed Group Leader of this crew in the spring of 1976. From September 1978 through March 1988, he worked as the Field Crew Chief for the Survey Department, until he was appointed the District 6 Foreman in March 1988. Nixon remained in this position until January 1993, at which time he was promoted to Assistant Maintenance Superintendent, and within a year, Maintenance Superintendent. He was appointed to his current position, Director of Operations, in March of 2000.
“I am very proud to have worked my entire career at the Washtenaw County Road Commission,” remarked Nixon. “Having been able to serve in so many capacities throughout the past 34 years enabled me to learn the overall operation of a road commission from the ground up, which was extremely helpful in my current position as Operations Director.”
Nixon is a longtime resident of Whitmore Lake. He and his wife, Micki, have been married for 30 years. They have two children; Lindsay, age 25, who resides in Columbus Ohio, and Zack, age 23, of Whitmore Lake.
Daryl D. Muirhead
Foreman, District 1
“In addition to Ken Nixon, another valuable veteran of our agency, Daryl Muirhead, our District 1 Foreman, will also retire on May 23,” announced Puuri.
Muirhead began his employment with the Road Commission as a temporary employee during the summers of 1971 and 1972 and was hired to a permanent position in November 1972 as a laborer. Other positions he has held during his 34 years of public service include Light Truck Driver, Heavy Truck Driver and Group Leader. In 2002, he was promoted to District Foreman and has served in this position since that time. Over the years, Muirhead’s contributions to the Road Commission have been numerous, and he will surely be missed by all of those who depend upon the services and support he provided to our Operations Department and the Washtenaw County citizens.
“We would be remiss if we did not say that Daryl’s absence will be sorely felt by everyone in Operations,” Puuri said. “Daryl’s extensive experience in our day-to-day maintenance activities cannot easily be replaced. However, we have been fortunate enough to draw upon other experienced staff to fill his position. Rick Bell was recently selected to be our next District 1 Foreman, and he will take over our daily maintenance operations in Webster, Scio and Lodi Townships once Daryl has retired.”
“On behalf of the Board of County Road Commissioners, myself, and the Road Commission staff, we would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to Ken and Daryl on their retirements. Their absence in our organization is sure to be an impact, but we send them off with our best wishes for much happiness and success in all their future endeavors!” concluded Puuri.
For more information on this press release, contact Val Cooper, Public Information/Community Relations Officer at 734.327.6675, or via email.