“I’ve been here 23 years and I didn’t know who he was,” City Clerk Pam Ryan said after Monday’s Brewer City Council meeting where Burrill and two other longtime employees were honored for their combined 98 years of service to the city.

“Then someone said, ‘It’s Hadley,’” Ryan said, as a huge smile spread across her face. “Everybody knows Hadley.”

Water department supervisor Rodney Butler said that everybody knows Hadley because he’s a dedicated employee and a fun-loving jokester. He said he added “aka Hadley” to the City Council resolve so everyone would know it was Burrill who was being honored.

Yvonne Martin, water department office manager for 33 years, said she didn’t know what she was getting into when she started.

“I didn’t give much thought to where water comes from,” she told councilors. “What an eye opener.”

Butler described her as “the rock of the office.”

“She knows the ins and the outs and there is no one the customers would rather speak with than Yvonne,” he said from the City Council podium, making her smile.

Martin added that she was “thankful to work with people who really care about what they do.”

The third person honored was John F. Mackie, parks and recreation employee and cemeteries supervisor, who has 33 years of continuous dedicated service under his belt.

His resolve of recognition lists a number of accomplishments but it doesn’t mention all the little stuff Mackie does to make the city a better place in which to live, said Ken Hanscom, parks and recreation department supervisor.

“For being out at zero degrees temperature making ice at our two ice rinks. For the many years of meeting with grieving families as cemetery supervisor [and] for always listening to my voicemail and saying can you take care of this,” Hanscom said.

Butler said he remembers his first day on the job at the water department back in November 2011 because of Hadley.

“He walks by and cracks a joke,” the water superintendent said. “He’s someone who can take a mood that is down … [and] he can crack a joke that lightens us up.”

In addition, the longtime employee is a very hard worker who is usually the first to answer a call for help.

“He’s always there,” Butler said. “He’s that guy.”

During the meeting, the council also:

• Issued a resolution of respect for Ralph Goss, who died Nov. 19, for his time served with the 97th Infantry Division, where he earned a Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star, his years of dedication to youth programs in Brewer, and his 10 years as a Brewer High School district trustee. Ralph Goss is the father of Mayor Jerry Goss and Kevin Goss. “My father loved Brewer,” the mayor said.

• Recognized Machias Savings Bank for sponsoring different events in the city and hosting the Brewer Business Resources program.

• Authorized purchasing two real UV transmittance monitoring units from Real Tech Inc., from Whitby, Ontario, at a cost of $15,019, for it’s secondary treatment for microbial contaminants program, required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

A copyright article from The Bangor Daily News by Nok-Noi Ricker.