Whether you love ’em or loathe ’em, the winners of the November 3 elections will not be the ones filling those potholes on your street. Or teaching math at your nearest public school. Or shelving the books at your local library. Or keeping the trees trimmed in your favorite public park. There’s an unseen army of public servants who work for St. Louisans, day in and day out, performing precisely these kinds of unsexy but necessary tasks. And within that government workforce, we’ve found a few standouts. They could probably make more money in the private sector; they don’t need to go the extra mile. But these are the Leslie Knopes of our hometown: They bring their A-game every day because they love the work, or believe in it, or just want to help their fellow citizens. It’s the kind of civic spirit we need more of—especially now.
Photography by Matt Seidel
Chad Strickland
Firefighter, St. Louis Fire Department
Fire, oftentimes, isn’t even the emergency. Strickland has rescued barge workers who’ve fallen into the Mississippi. He has responded to massive pileup car accidents. Occasionally he performs such quiet tasks as helping an elderly lady adjust her air conditioning unit. But make no mistake: In his 19 years as a city firefighter, Strickland has faced down flames—and the prospect of death. During one call in 2015, Strickland had to drop to his hands and knees and crawl through smoke billowing from a burning two-story brick building to rescue a 4-year-old girl. But whatever’s going on, Strickland is known in the department for his consistently cheerful mien. “I look at it like this,” he says. “I always tell people when we show up, we want to leave that situation by making it better or stopping it from getting any worse.”
Photography by Matt Seidel
Matt Waltz
Assistant public defender, city of St. Louis
In 1996, at the moment Waltz was diving into the swimming pool, he was a Truman State University student with only one semester left and aspirations to join the FBI or Secret Service. But that dive went horribly wrong: He sustained catastrophic injuries that left him a C5 quadriplegic. Ineligible to serve as a law enforcer out in the field, Waltz shifted his focus to a career in criminal law. He landed a job in the St. Louis office of the Missouri State Public Defender in 2006 and has since worked more than 100 jury trials. It’s a difficult job full of unappreciated work, he says, but it’s never boring, and when a client actually takes time to thank him, that’s the best part. Waltz’s sense of fairness is what compels him to serve. “Even though you may not like or agree with what they did, you don’t throw them to the wolves,” he says. “You want to have somebody represent them to the best of their abilities and make sure everything is done fairly.”
Photography by Matt Seidel
Tiger Reed
Assistant manager, St. Louis Public Library Carpenter branch
Libraries aren’t just homes for books. They’re places where the unemployed can access the internet and look for jobs. They’re also places where the unhoused can find the path to services they need. No two days are the same, and that’s exactly why Reed, assistant manager of the St. Louis Public Library’s Carpenter branch, loves his job. His branch serves a diverse clientele: In the morning, he might be recommending a novel, then in the afternoon, helping someone with a substance abuse issue find support. Over the past seven years, Reed has indeed had a hand in a bit of everything, working in youth services, organizing Drag Queen Storytime events, and making the library system an inviting place for all. “[The library] is moving more into this space of community engagement than it ever has been,” Reed says. “It is much more a job where I feel like I’m putting good out into the world and helping people with the ways I can in my role. I see people from all walks of life, all demographics and classes. At the end of the day, people come in and just want you to listen—or they want some help.”
Photography by Matt Seidel
Essence Owens
Neighborhood development executive, city of St. Louis
Ever been frustrated by a pothole? A missing street sign? A crack in a sidewalk? You may have called the Citizens’ Service Bureau, which is overseen by Owens, the city’s neighborhood development executive. Under her guidance, the bureau fields complaints from observant citizens and then coordinates with other city departments to fix the problems. Though these issues may seem small, they add up—and sometimes the job is about much more than addressing blight. Take, for example, the time Owens worked to board up a vacant building where a girl was raped so no other horrors could take place inside its walls. Over the last two years, Owens has also helped organize the city’s blitz operation, which sends city crews door to door in neighborhoods needing basic services: Police officers conduct safety inspections, firefighters install smoke detectors, forestry workers tend to weeds, Building Division workers board up vacant properties. It’s a lot of work, but Owens does it with a greater purpose in mind. “I want to see the city get back to its glory,” she says. “I saw the city when I was younger. It was vibrant and there were businesses everywhere—not some of the despair I see now. I want to help do my part and get the resources to the communities so that they know they are not alone.”
Photography by Matt Seidel
Tavonda Palmer
Graduation coach, Ritenour High School
Trevor Hicks
History teacher, Kairos Academies
Palmer didn’t even want to be a teacher unless there was room for her on the faculty at Ritenour High School. That’s because Ritenour has always felt like home to her. It’s the place where she served as student council president in the class of 2000 and whose leadership program helped mold her into the educator she’s become. “There was always a feeling of wanting to be at home and give back,” Palmer recalls. Since returning, 15 years ago, she has taught Spanish and now serves as the school’s graduation coach, a role made more challenging by the pandemic and the trials of remote work. But she has a track record of connecting with students, particularly through Ritenour’s leadership program. Trevor Hicks is one such student. He worked with Palmer for three years—one in Spanish, two in leadership—and calls her lessons “life-changing.” Now the student has become the teacher: Hicks recently graduated from Harris-Stowe University and currently finds himself a few months into his own career as a history teacher at Kairos Academies. “So many teachers and mentors poured into me,” Hicks says, “and I just want to pour into my students as much as I can and expose them to the world that they live in.”
Photography by Matt Seidel
Franny Stockton
Forestry/wildlife technician, Missouri Department of Conservation
Growing up in southeast Missouri, Stockton lived to be outdoors, sloshing through swamps and chasing waterfowl. Now, it’s her profession. After earning a biology degree from Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville and working various seasonal jobs, she was hired by the Missouri Department of Conservation as a forestry/wildlife technician at Rockwoods Reservation, in Wildwood. There, her work changes with the seasons. Warmer months mean earlier mornings to beat the heat and eradicate invasive plants such as honeysuckle. In the colder seasons, she grabs her chainsaw and slices through tree trunks to thin out wooded areas. As a custodian of natural habitats, Stockton must work with an eye to tomorrow. “That’s the whole deal with conservation,” she says, “this idea that you have to believe that what we’re doing today will positively impact our future.”
