Local news- Press Release
Boone County Kentucky - Faces Behind the County Tyler Hill 03 January 2024 ( news )
Boone County , state Kentucky ( By Press Release office)
Jan 03,2024
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Faces Behind the County: Tyler Hill
Each month , we ' ll recognize two hardworking County employees who help deliver services , programs , and resources to our residents .
Our first employee is Tyler Hill . Tyler currently works as Project Development Specialist in the Public Works department . For the past five years ( plus several more summers as a seasonal Parks and Rec employee ) , Tyler has shared his dedication and commitment to improving the county . His hard work has been recognized by County , state and national organizations . Tyler was recently voted president of the Northern Kentucky American Public Works Association ( APWA ) and vice president for Kentucky APWA . He was also selected as one of 32 AWPA Emerging Leaders across the nation .
His hard work isn ' t limited to the AWPA . He has also received emergency management training to help Boone County prepare and respond to emergencies and disasters . This past fall , Tyler and other members of the Kentucky Incident Management Team #1 , attended intensive , hands - on disaster management training at Disaster City .
Get to know Tyler with his answers below!
Q: What’s your favorite thing about your job?
My favorite part about working for Boone County is getting to serve and shape my community . I was born and reared here as the first son of a nurse and sheriff’s officer . Public service has always been in my blood despite how much I have attempted to fight that at times . As a child , I watched Boone County take shape . Every day I wake up excited to make my home a better place and take part in what is unfolding right in front of us .
Q: What are your day - to - day responsibilities?
My day - to - day responsibilities are best described as that final line most people find in their job descriptions , “other tasks as assigned” . I create , lead and facilitate various programs for the county . My daily tasks generally focus on making the daily lives of employees safer and better . Facilitating training on everything from heavy equipment and CDL programs to Flagger Training and a laundry list of safety issues . I work on technology integrations for our work order system so that our feet on the street can more efficiently do their job . I work with other departments such as Parks , Risk Management and Emergency Management to ensure we are all ready , safe and properly trained . I also sit on committees that change and affect how and what we do so that we can better serve the community and be safer while doing it .
Q: How do you describe what you do to family and friends?
When I try to describe what I do to my friends and family , I also start by asking them something to the effect of… “You know those jobs at your workplace , the ones that weave in and out of everyone’s day , nobody knows who does it , nobody knows how it gets done , it’s just taken care of?” I’m that guy for Public Works . I’m the guy behind the scenes , making sure things are there when they are supposed to be there .
Q: How long have you worked for the County?
I have been with Public Works for 5 years . I also spent a number of summers in the mid to late 2000s working for the Parks in their Summer Programs when I would come home from college . Those summers and those people are still some of my favorites to this day .
Q: What are some things that residents often find surprising about your department’s services?
Most people don’t realize that Public Works professionals are First Responders . In 2003 , President George W . Bush issued Presidential Policy Directive 8 ( PPD - 8 ) officially recognizing public works as first responders . In 2019 , the US Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 15 , expressing support for the designation of October 28th as Honoring First Responders Day , where Public Works is specifically mentioned . The National Incident Management System lists Public Works alongside police , fire , and dispatch for All Hazards Emergency Management . I say all of that to say , Public Works is the silent army of public service . As a rule , during a large emergency , we are the first in and the last out . We make sure police , fire , and EMS can get where they need to go and then spend the weeks , months , and years after an event helping life get back to normal . We do all of this without the fanfare given to other professions .
Q: What’s your favorite story about working for the County?
I have grown up in and around the county , so I have no shortage of great stories . One of my favorites is a simple story that could very easily go unnoticed . When I was a young man working for the Parks Department , I remember that at the start of every summer David ( Whitehouse ) , Mary Ann ( Neltner ) and Paul ( Ankenbauer ) made all the summer program leaders go to CPR and first aid training . Every year , like clockwork . I remember it feeling tedious . Well , I came to find out years later that repetition is what builds memory . When I was a young father , my beautiful daughter decided to eat one bite a little too large and choked . Because of the repeated training I was offered , I jumped to save her without even realizing what I had done . I still thank those three occasionally for making me sit there all those years ago because I’m sure I forgot to as a young man .
Q: What are some of your professional development accomplishments?
This year has been an amazing year for my professional development . I have enrolled at NKU to get my master’s degree . I completed a Leadership program through Thomas More . I applied for , was accepted to , and completed an Enhanced All Hazard Incident Management course through Texas A&M; I was one of many people from Kentucky to do so but the first from the state to represent Public Works . I have been elected the President of the Northern Kentucky APWA ( American Public Works Association ) . I have also been elected the Vice President of the Kentucky Chapter of APWA . The one I might be the proudest of is that I was accepted into the APWA Emerging Leaders Academy . This academy is a rigorous , year - long program where I work together with Public Works professionals from around the United States and beyond . I was selected for the class of ’23 - ‘24 from a pool of hundreds of international Public Works professionals and the first ever from the state of Kentucky .
Q: Why is it important to you to be so involved in your field?
As I mentioned before , public service runs in my family . I never saw myself as the hero that police officers or nurses are , but I found my way to make my community a better place . I feel like by getting deeply involved , I can help grow what we are doing and bring more attention to the great things we are a part of . Ultimately , I want to help people and make Boone County a better place for everyone , and by diving deeper into Public Works , I can find more ways to do that for my community .
Q: What have been some of your biggest lessons learned during your emergency management deployments?
Some of the biggest and yet most simple takeaways in any emergency are teamwork and diversity . Working on the Kentucky Incident Management Team , I get to work with individuals from all different disciplines . It’s important to work with them , and it’s important to have all those different disciplines and bring those skills to the table .
Easily the largest takeaway from any event I have been a part of is the importance of Public Works professionals . Police , Fire and EMS will always be the people on the front page because they do spectacular things . They save a family from a burning building , rescue people off rooftops during a flood , and protect us from the people who mean to do us harm . But the importance of your Public Works happens in silence . We clear the roads of debris so the fire truck can get through , we unclog the waterway and maintain the roadsides so that the flood recedes , and we clear the snow so that EMS can get to the injured people . Public Works builds and maintains the means of travel that everyone uses every day and never thinks twice about .
On a more personal level , a lesson learned from these incidents is that the people going into the event aren’t the only heroes . Those of us who choose to go are supported by other amazing people . My daughter gets nervous when I go , so she writes me notes and sends me messages to keep my morale up . My mom , dad and stepparents step up at home in my absence . My boss , Rob Franxman , supports my training and willingness to help when I can . The value of the support from those around you makes all the difference when it comes to showing up .
Q: Where have you been deployed?
I have only been on the Kentucky Incident Management Team for about a year and a half . In that time , I have been deployed twice . Once to floods in Eastern Kentucky in the summer of 2022 and then again to the Rockcastle Train Derailment on Thanksgiving of 2023 .
Q: What was that like being away from home over Thanksgiving?
Being away from home and family on Thanksgiving was tough , I’m not going to lie . But you know what’s worse? Getting emergency evacuated from your home the night before Thanksgiving , possibly not having anywhere to go , not knowing what comes next . I believe that one of the greatest deeds a person can do is help someone in their darkest hour , knowing that you want nothing from them in return . I love helping people and this was an amazing opportunity to help people who truly needed a hand . As always , my support amazing support system helped me through . My daughter wrote me a note and slid it into my pocket as I ran out the door with strict instructions not to open it until Thanksgiving morning . I found it that morning and read it . It said she loved me and hoped I was safe . It absolutely meant the world to me at that moment .
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Have a County employee you ' d like to recognize? Email Elaine at ezeinner@boonecountyky . org .
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