Meet Kim Caudill, Public Works Superintendent

Public Works is a vital part of any locality. Without them, you can count on many of the things we take for granted disappearing overnight. Clean roads, working street lights, and making sure Town events are ready to go are part of what they take care of daily; and that's just scratching the surface of all they do. Throw a daily array of citizen phone calls and new work orders into the mix, and things can get a little bit hectic to say the least.

Luckily for the Town of Pulaski, Public works is in good hands with Kim Caudill, the department's General Superintendent. Kim has been the General Superintendent for Public Works since January of this year. Before that, Kim held a few other positions with the Town, working her way up the ladder to where she is now. She started as a secretary, then went on to be the Assistant to the Director. After that, she was promoted to Administrative Manager before making it to her current position. It's clear that Public Works recognized her value early on in her stint with the Town, and continue to recognize it; December 2nd will make 28 years that Kim has been employed with the Town of Pulaski.

For Kim, there is no regular day at the office. Due to the nature of Public Works, responsibilities shift and change depending on the needs of the public at any given time. There is structure to the workday though. "Well sometimes they [the days] vary from day to day, but for my part, first we have a department head meeting every morning with myself and Bill and the respective superintendents. I collect paperwork and invoices and we discuss what's going on, what went on the day before, any needs and anything else I need to do." A lot more goes into her day including a lot of scheduling and coordinating. She also has to manage vehicle maintenance and keep track of VDOT expenditures. As you can see, Kim's position is one of incredible importance to the Town of Pulaski. She keeps the machine of Public Works well oiled, and she's fantastic at her job. Due to her long tenure with the Town, she's come to know many of the people who call in to Public Works on a first name basis. As soon as she hears their voice she often knows their address and what their requests or service needs will be, which is amazing!

Usually, Public Works contains their work to the Town, but on occasion they assist Pulaski County. Cleaning lines and providing labor for other tasks are sometimes brought into the fold of Public Works, which Kim is more than happy to help with. The Town of Pulaski is the heart of Pulaski County, so it only makes sense that we help out for the greater good when needed. Kim takes pride in the work that the rest of her department puts in. "I have a good crew, I can't complain. I don't get to interact with everyone on a daily basis, mostly just the department heads. But it's a great crew."

A born and raised native, Kim has lived in Pulaski her whole life, currently living near scenic Gatewood Park. She loves it here; "I love the small town charm. It's quaint, and you know just about everybody. There's a sense of comfort and safety in that." Like just about everyone, Kim thought about moving to a bigger area when she was younger. But as time marched on, she knew that Pulaski was where she was meant to be. Raising children helped in that decision as well. "I used to think about it, but I just stayed here and settled down, raised my children." She has two grown daughters, Megan and Allison and two grandchildren, Malachi and Malorie.

When Kim isn't on the clock, she usually likes to keep a low profile with her time off. "We like to try and catch a good Clemson game on Saturdays, I'm a big Clemson fan. Sunday is family day, we try to have the kids and grandkids over for a little while to spend some time with them." Kim is a total dog person; she doesn't dislike cats, but she's dogs all the way. She's a big cheesy 70's and 80's movie fan. "I like anything with Tom Hanks, Patrick Swayze. My guilty pleasure movie would probably be Road House." She's a huge fan of the Blue Ridge Fudge Lady as well, going so far as to brag on how good the fudge is when she travels to Myrtle Beach and checks out the fudge stores there. And for the final and most important question, Kim let me know that she's not a fan of pineapple on pizza. "You're gonna be hard pressed to find anyone who agrees with you on that one, I think."

As Kim continues to treat every workday likes it's her most important, we at the Town would like to recognize her for the hard work she's put in to make it to where she is now. One of her best qualities, in my opinion, is her humility. She preferred that I interview the others who work in Public Works before I interviewed her; it's very important to her that her employees are recognized for all they do as well. We look forward to continuing to work with Kim on a daily basis, and with the Public Works Department as a whole.