On October 25th, Ray Funnye, Director of Public Services for Georgetown County, was our Open Forum guest. Mr. Funnye is a native Georgetonian. He graduated from Savannah State University and began his career as an engineer in Atlanta. His line of work has taken him many places over the years, even to the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Funnye never intended on returning to Georgetown. “I told my dad I was leaving and never coming back,” he said. However, when he visited Georgetown for his brother’s funeral, he happened to get a job offer in public services. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Mr. Funnye said. He has now worked in public services for 31 years.

Mr. Funnye told us that there are all kinds of opportunities in public services. Municipalities and counties hire a multitude of different people: lawyers, planners, engineers, truck drivers, environmentalists, and many more. “It’s a career of service,” Mr Funnye explained. “We are unsung heroes.”

Mr. Funnye explained that his job is to help the people of Georgetown thrive. People in public services help keep the city on its feet–from debris cleanup to city planning, the Department of Public Services does it all. “Knowing I am making a difference for others is important,” he told us. When Public Services hires people, they are not just looking for someone who can do a specific job, they are looking for leaders. Teamwork is extremely important, but so is the ability to lead a team. Mr Funnye told us public services is a very stable job, because humans will always have problems that need to be managed by others.

Overall, we learned that public services is a very important job. Without Ray Funnye and other public services people, Georgetown could not run as smoothly as it does. We salute the Public Services Department and thank Mr. Funnye visiting our school today.

By Sage