The Town of Wrightsville Beach is down more than 30 years of experienced leadership on its staff, as the retirements of both the fire chief and public works director became official last week.
The town gave both public works director Mike Vukelich and fire chief Frank Smith send-offs last week. Smith departed after 13 years as the fire chief, and nearly 29 overall with the department, while Vukelich oversaw the public works department for 15 years.
Town manager Tim Owens said he expected to have the fire chief position filled by late March or early April, while the public works department position wouldn’t be filled until April, as the interview process hasn’t started yet.
Capt. Robert Pugh will serve as the interim fire chief. Owens said he has already conducted the interviews for that position, and expects to make an offer within a few weeks.
Storm water management manager Jonathan Babin will oversee the public works department until Vukelich’s replacement is hired. Owens said there will be several candidates to consider, including a few from inside the department.
Smith chose a rather quiet farewell, Owens said, with a low-key gathering of fire department staff and friends at a local restaurant, while the town threw a farewell luncheon for Vukelich.
For 48 years, Pat Vukelich watched her husband pound the clock, dutifully going to work in a career that included 15 in Wrightsville Beach. But during his goodbye reception on Thursday, Jan. 28, it was her turn to pound the clock.
As the ceremony’s final act, Pat smashed a small clock with a hammer, to the cheers of the more than two dozen friends, family, coworkers and residents that attended the luncheon to wish her husband a fond farewell.
“It felt good,” she said. “I’ve shared him with a job for 48 years. Now it’s my turn.”
Pat and the couple’s children were among the group that came to praise Vukelich for his service to the town, with each division of the department presenting him a gift. The streets and building department gave him a signed “One Way” sign, while the water and sewer department presented him with a Wrightsville Beach-logoed sweatshirt. The sanitation division gave him a model garbage truck, complete with the town’s logo, while the fleet maintenance division included the logo on a clock.
“I feel like a kid at Christmas,” Vukelich said of his haul.
The gifts came with praise and appreciation, including from former colleagues and residents. Harold King, who lives on Island Drive, praised the performance of the public works department under Vukelich.
“He did a good job, he was a good man and he put together an excellent crew,” King said.
Former assistant public works director Tom Ames added his well wishes.
“He did his best the whole time. It was a pleasure to work with him,” Ames said.
Vukelich , in turn, had praise for his staff over the years, which he said helped get him through some of the challenging projects his department faces. He said his most challenging project was the rebuild of the town’s sewer system in 2007 and 2008.
“It’s very easy to do a good job when you have good people and a good crew,” he said.
Everyone in the department pitched in for the gift that symbolizes the next phase for Mike and Pat Vukelich — a suitcase that will help carry the couple’s things on their upcoming travels, which will include some time in the Minnesota home where their children were raised.
“I’m just looking forward at enjoying retirement. I have never not worked,” Vukelich said, noting that his first job was as a newspaper delivery boy when he was 12.
Vukelich ’s working days may not be totally over. He said he was considering some consulting positions in the future.
But as far as work goes, Vukelich said his best was behind him, noting the joy he felt that his son, Bill, and daughter-in-law Daun, and his daughters, Shari Newsum and Stacy Vukelich-Greenwood, could be there to celebrate his retirement with him.
“They are my proudest and most important accomplishment,” Vukelich said.
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