City says farewell with the right fanfare

The city of Wilson and her co-workers gave Alice Freeman, assistant city manager, a grand send-off Thursday. A reception at the City Operations Center gave everyone a chance to say goodbye to Alice, who started her city career in 1978. It also featured a fat book full of accolades for Alice from co-workers, public officials (including Gov. Mike Easley and former Gov. Jim Hunt). A video presentation featured photographs of Alice's city career and her earlier years.

Alice is one of the most upbeat, cheerful and welcoming people I've ever met. She wasn't above cracking a joke or calling to tease me about something going on at the Daily Times when I was managing editor, editor or opinion editor there. She also let me know when she disliked something I had done or that the newspaper had done. And on occasion she would call out of the blue to ask for my advice on finding the right word or punctuating a sentence in the right way. With Alice, it was always a pleasant conversation, regardless of whether she called to praise, to joke or to complain.

She served the city well over a lot of years, and the city said goodbye to her Thursday in a way befitting her dedication and her impact.

It's unfortunate that many other loyal, dedicated employees, especially in this awful economic downturn, are not being given the farewell their work and their years warrant.