Longtime Parks and Rec Administrative Coordinator Judy Syverson retires

By Connor Hopkins and Ian Wriesner

After 44 years of service, Judy Syverson retired from the Decorah Parks and Recreation department June 30. Judy was the first – and only – administrative coordinator in the department’s history. In a letter written to the Iowa Parks and Recreation Association, Decorah Parks and Recreation Director Andy Nimrod said, “She might currently be the longest serving full-time Parks and Recreation employee in IPRA”.
Things began humbly for Syverson in the Parks and Recreation office. When she began on Oct. 1, 1976, her starting wage was $2.26 per hour, and her early duties included dressing as the Easter Bunny for the annual Easter Egg hunt or as one of Santa’s elves for a children’s holiday party. As her brother Darryl Syverson remembered, Judy applied for the job at the strong suggestion of their mother. 

Full story in the July 1 Public Opinion.

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