Just after sunrise each morning, Sammy Sanders arrives at the Wrightsville Beach Public Works Department with a smile and starts a garbage truck. He ensures the levers in the back are functioning properly so the truck can take him and his co-worker Andre Simpson on their garbage routes.
“The Lord woke me up this morning, so that made everything good,” Sanders said earlier this month while on his round.
Sanders has worked for the Wrightsville Beach Public Works Department as a sanitation worker for 23 years.
“Wrightsville Beach is a nice place to work. It’s a good environment. You can see the beach,” he said.
Sanders, originally from Georgia, moved to Wilmington after meeting his wife during a visit with his aunt.
“We’ve been together 38 years. The good Lord put us together,” Sanders said.
Sanders and his wife have seven children. The oldest, Erica, is 35 and the youngest, MaNigah (pronounced Mah-nye-jah), is 18.
“I got a strong belief in family. My grandmother raised me like that. She gave me a lot of my values. She’s been gone 30 years now, and I still miss her. The beliefs she gave me made me the man that I am,” he said.
Sanders’ first job in Wilmington was cleaning boats at Atlantic Marine, which was owned by the late Gene Floyd, former mayor of Wrightsville Beach.
“He had a big influence on my life,” Sanders said.
Fifteen years later, Sanders started working for the Wrightsville Beach Public Works Department, which was directed by John Nesbitt.
“He was a kind person. He gave me an opportunity,” Sanders said.
Sanders also spoke highly of his colleagues.
“My co-workers are nice men. I feel so blessed,” he said.
Sanders, accompanied by Simpson, drove around the island.
“He is my right-hand man. Me and him is like two peas in a pod,” Sanders said.
Sanders spoke highly of Wrightsville Beach residents, as well.
“They see us and pick up a conversation. We go to talking and we get to know each other over an amount of time. I feel very fortunate to be in this area,” he said.
Although Sanders is friendly to each person who comes across his path, he still works quickly. Each time Sanders parks the truck, he hops out of the cab and sprints to the nearest driveway and helps Simpson unload garbage cans into the back of the truck.
Sanders said getting in and out of the truck repetitively is the most challenging part of his job. “It’s still a good job,” he said. “It keeps me in shape — the jumping in and out and the moving. It takes a lot of endurance. It keeps my circulation going; there’s no doubt about that. I’m 60 years old and my blood pressure is normal. … I very seldom get sick. I think it’s because of the movement. It’s kind of like exercise,” he said.
Despite the physical intensity of his work, Sanders said he doesn’t get sore.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, I guess I’m used to it,” he said.
Sanders’ hard work and friendliness don’t go unnoticed. Martha Jeter, a long-time resident of Wrightsville Beach, has known Sanders since he started working for the public works department 23 years ago.
“He has been mighty faithful. He is a diplomat at Wrightsville Beach. He knows everybody and everything going on — all the news,” she said. “He just has the nicest attitude.”
Jeter said she looks forward to Sanders’ Tuesday visits.
“He toots his horn when he comes down the street, so I’ll know he’s coming. He’ll run up the stairs and give me a hug, wanting to know how I’m doing that day … He’s one of the nicest public servants I’ve ever met. He loves his job and what he does. He’s a good neighbor to everybody on the beach.”
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