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| Debbie Buckley with Mayor Mary Brown |
Debbie Buckley was nominated for the Employee of the Year Award through the Kentucky League of Cities and won 1st runner up out of hundreds of nominations. I know first hand how hard she works for the city of Fort Thomas and there is no one that deserves recognition more than her.
Congrats Debbie!
Read Mayor Mary Brown’s Nomination Letter
I am excited to nominate Mrs.
Debbie Buckley, Renaissance Manager / Economic Development Director for the
City of Fort Thomas, for the “2013 Kentucky City Employee of the Year”
award.
Debbie started with the City of
Fort Thomas in 2006. During her 7 year
tenure with the city she has had dramatic and positive impacts through new and
special events, working with merchants, enticing new business to open shops in
the city, and playing a key role in honoring our military.
One of Debbie’s biggest
accomplishments was establishing the Fort Thomas Military and Community Museum. Before Debbie joined our staff, we had a very
small room with some military items that people rarely visited. She resolved to make the museum bigger, better
and more accessible and inviting. She
established a Museum Committee of long-time, seasoned residents who were very
knowledgeable about the history of Fort Thomas.
They were all very excited to help Debbie tackle this monumental project.
The city owned a historic but vacant home
in Tower Park. Debbie thought this was
the perfect location for the museum due to Tower Park’s former use as an active
military base; and because of it’s proximity to the V.A. Hospital and the Army
Reserve Unit, the 478th Engineer Battalion. Debbie took measures to make that old house,
built in 1894, our new museum. Working
with local developer, David Hosea, and the museum committee they transformed
the look of that old house into a beautiful museum. There have been many obstacles to overcome,
as there always are with old buildings.
There have been mouse, rat, and bug issues. There were also problems with the basement
leaking. Debbie and her volunteers spent
several days cleaning the basement with bleach and scrubbing the grime
away. Since then we have had the
basement waterproofed to protect some of the storage.
The set up and tear down of the museum
displays are all done by Debbie and the committee. The day-to-day operation of the museum is now
overseen by volunteers and has many visitors each day. Northern Kentucky University Masters in
Public History created an exhibit called “Beverly Hills: Showplace of a Nation”. I would guess all of you know about the
Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate?
This exhibit drew hundreds of people coming to see the work of the NKU students. Debbie coordinated this exhibit with them and
had an “opening” night for the exhibit with food and wine tasting outside, and
utilized our local merchants and vendors.
Debbie also appeared on Channel 19, a local news channel to explain the
museum and the exhibit and draw more people to it.
Debbie continues to work with the
students at Northern Kentucky University on other special museum projects and
displays. One of the newest, is the
Pearl Bryan Murder exhibit. Debbie takes
such pride in the museum and it shows in her work and dedication to it.
Debbie developed a new program
for students in middle school and high school called the “Jr. Renaissance Camp.” This camp was established in 2007 and has
been a wonderful, well-attended addition to our community. The history-minded students involved in the
camp created a flat model of what the military fort was like at the turn of the
century using maps, blueprints and aerial photos. They hike the trails of Tower Parking viewing
old pictures of the area to l make comparisons about what has changed. They even occasionally find relics of the
past where the Altamont Hotel used to sit, along with many other
activities. This camp runs for 2 weeks
each summer. These children learn so
much from Debbie and so do the members of our community.
In 2012 Debbie established our 1st
Annual Antique Show. Vendors gathered in
the Community Center to display and sell their antiques. We had a good turnout for our first year and
look forward to years to come and getting bigger and better!
Another of Debbie’s accomplishments
is the creation of the “Salute to Veterans” event. This event was founded by Debbie in
2008. The Salute to Veterans event encompasses
a three day time slot in November near Veterans Day. It is held in the Community Center (the Mess
Hall of the former Fort) in Tower Park.
The first day is dedicated to school groups attending and listening to
speakers about history. Each year highlights
a different war. We always have many
classes from all of our city schools that attend. The second two days of the event are open to
the public to browse through the 6th scale models that are displayed
by members of the Sixth Scale Collectors Club in Ohio, watch re-enactors, see a
Sherman Tank, etc. These displays grow
each year and are absolutely amazing!
The kids as well as the adults love to look at them and the detail put
into them. If you would like to see more information about the event go to our
website at http://www.ftthomas.org/Renaissance/Salute%20to%20Veterans.html.
Salute to Veterans culminates with a USO Dance and Dinner. This dinner is always well attended and the
V.A. Hospital brings resident veterans from their Fort Thomas Branch and their
Cincinnati Branch to attend so that we can honor them. These veterans love the dance. The Big Time Swing Band plays while people
eat and dance. This event has become
close to our city’s heart, especially when you see all of the veterans’ smiling
faces. And let me say again, this has
all happened because of Debbie Buckley.
Another notable accomplishment of
Debbie’s is coordinating an event called “Merchants and Music.” This event was not founded by Debbie but she
now oversees it and has made it bigger and better than it ever has been. This event includes our businesses in town as
well as other merchants and business owners in the surrounding towns. We always have several local bands
playing. Last year we had over 100
merchants participate and the headliner was country music star Jo Dee Messina. In 2013 our headliner will be John Michael
Montgomery! We are very excited about
this and expect approximately 10,000 people to attend. The event will be held on September 28th this
year and runs from 2-11 p.m. Debbie has
worked endless hours to put this event together and most of the event is funded
by sponsorships and donations. Debbie’s
enthusiasm and positive attitude are contagious. She helps to build excitement for this and
other events while keeping a smile on her face.
Another well-received addition to
Fort Thomas implemented by Debbie is our Farmers’ Market. Local farmers set up shop in our Historic
Midway District each Wednesday, and at Fort Thomas Plaza on Fridays to sell
their fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, dipping oils, meats, eggs and other
natural products.
Debbie Buckley goes way above and
beyond the call of duty. Her job duties
do not entail working endless hours to make our city great – but she does it
regardless. Her duties do not entail
working after work to raise money for our museum and other projects – but she
does it regardless. She holds this city
close to her heart and you can see the sparkle in her eyes as she comes up with
new ideas and inspirations.
In closing, Debbie Buckley is one
of the hardest and most dedicated workers I have ever had the joy of working
with. She exceeds all job expectations. She is a jewel in our crown here in Fort
Thomas, and I believe she deserves the recognition of this award.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary H. Brown, Mayor
