thedrifter
01-02-07, 08:31 AM
Retired Marine staffs front office at city street department
By CINDY BARKS
The Daily Courier
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
PRESCOTT In what could well have been the calm before the storm, Bobbie King waited patiently for the calls to start coming in.
It was Wednesday afternoon, and weather forecasters were predicting snow in Prescott later that day. As the secretary manning the phones at the city's street division, King is the first line of defense.
"I'm kind of triage here with the phones," she said.
While Wednesday's storm did not live up to predictions, that did not lessen the preparations. Crews still were busy readying the equipment, and King was standing by to take the expected flood of calls.
On a bad-weather day, as many as 80 calls might come in mostly from people requesting snow removal or complaining about road conditions.
Noting that the majority of people are "very nice when they call," King acknowledged that she gets the occasional aggressive or stressed-out caller. "It gets a little intense during the storms themselves," she said.
The frenzy doesn't appear to faze King, however; she is accustomed to an extreme working atmosphere. Before taking on the job of streets secretary, King spent 20 years in the U.S Marine Corps.
Throughout her Marine career, King worked at base headquarters and in the offices of generals, moving among bases in California, Arizona and Okinawa. Professionalism and protocol were paramount in those offices, King said.
Although obviously devoted to the Marine Corps "there are no ex-Marines; I'm a retired Marine," she said King recounts a rather circuitous route to her enlistment.
After growing up in Dewey and attending Prescott High School, King married her high school boyfriend, who had enlisted in the Marines. Soon after her graduation, she went off to Southern California's Camp Pendleton.
For years, King was a military wife working for about a year as a bartender at the staff club.
But six years after joining her Marine husband, King decided it was time to join up herself. "There was not a lot of future in being a bartender," she said.
By the time she got to boot camp in 1981, King was 24. "It was tough, because it was a lot of physical stuff running and calisthenics. Besides, I was 'old' at the time," she laughed, drawing quote marks in the air.
King's first marriage ultimately ended, but she opted to continue to re-enlist in the Marine Corps.
While King says she never felt discrimination as a female Marine, she acknowledged that the corps was a "man's world." That was especially obvious during Desert Storm in the 1990s. King was stationed in Yuma, and some of the people she served with ended up going to fight in the war. But, she said, "it seemed like the half that stayed (at the base) wore skirts."
Now, as a member of the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, King technically could get the call to report for active duty in Iraq. While she noted that it is "not likely at all," King said she would be more than happy to go.
"That's what you're trained for; it's what every Marine is trained for," she said.
Meanwhile, King, who moved back to the area after her retirement in 2001, said she has adjusted well to her job in city public works. "I was looking for something in government," she said of her job search five-and-a-half years ago. "Basically, an office is an office. You can do anything if you know the workings of an office."
King commutes to her job with the city from the home she and her husband Joe King also a retired Marine have in Dewey. Her mother lives nearby, while her daughter Brenda lives in Colorado Springs.
Contact the reporter at cbarks@prescottaz.com
Ellie
By CINDY BARKS
The Daily Courier
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
PRESCOTT In what could well have been the calm before the storm, Bobbie King waited patiently for the calls to start coming in.
It was Wednesday afternoon, and weather forecasters were predicting snow in Prescott later that day. As the secretary manning the phones at the city's street division, King is the first line of defense.
"I'm kind of triage here with the phones," she said.
While Wednesday's storm did not live up to predictions, that did not lessen the preparations. Crews still were busy readying the equipment, and King was standing by to take the expected flood of calls.
On a bad-weather day, as many as 80 calls might come in mostly from people requesting snow removal or complaining about road conditions.
Noting that the majority of people are "very nice when they call," King acknowledged that she gets the occasional aggressive or stressed-out caller. "It gets a little intense during the storms themselves," she said.
The frenzy doesn't appear to faze King, however; she is accustomed to an extreme working atmosphere. Before taking on the job of streets secretary, King spent 20 years in the U.S Marine Corps.
Throughout her Marine career, King worked at base headquarters and in the offices of generals, moving among bases in California, Arizona and Okinawa. Professionalism and protocol were paramount in those offices, King said.
Although obviously devoted to the Marine Corps "there are no ex-Marines; I'm a retired Marine," she said King recounts a rather circuitous route to her enlistment.
After growing up in Dewey and attending Prescott High School, King married her high school boyfriend, who had enlisted in the Marines. Soon after her graduation, she went off to Southern California's Camp Pendleton.
For years, King was a military wife working for about a year as a bartender at the staff club.
But six years after joining her Marine husband, King decided it was time to join up herself. "There was not a lot of future in being a bartender," she said.
By the time she got to boot camp in 1981, King was 24. "It was tough, because it was a lot of physical stuff running and calisthenics. Besides, I was 'old' at the time," she laughed, drawing quote marks in the air.
King's first marriage ultimately ended, but she opted to continue to re-enlist in the Marine Corps.
While King says she never felt discrimination as a female Marine, she acknowledged that the corps was a "man's world." That was especially obvious during Desert Storm in the 1990s. King was stationed in Yuma, and some of the people she served with ended up going to fight in the war. But, she said, "it seemed like the half that stayed (at the base) wore skirts."
Now, as a member of the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, King technically could get the call to report for active duty in Iraq. While she noted that it is "not likely at all," King said she would be more than happy to go.
"That's what you're trained for; it's what every Marine is trained for," she said.
Meanwhile, King, who moved back to the area after her retirement in 2001, said she has adjusted well to her job in city public works. "I was looking for something in government," she said of her job search five-and-a-half years ago. "Basically, an office is an office. You can do anything if you know the workings of an office."
King commutes to her job with the city from the home she and her husband Joe King also a retired Marine have in Dewey. Her mother lives nearby, while her daughter Brenda lives in Colorado Springs.
Contact the reporter at cbarks@prescottaz.com
Ellie