Damika Withers, Deputy County Administrator

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:00:00

Good morning, Franklin County. This is Kenneth Wilson for another edition of TALK OF THE county. One of the things that motivate me is being a member of Team Franklin county, being able to lead an organization of over 1400 hardworking employees in 14, 15 agencies. I lose count that are exclusively seven days a week. Really, a lot of people don't realize it, depending on your position, motivated to serve the residents of Franklin county. And that number is 1.35 million in county. So for me, being county administrator is truly a blessing because of having the opportunity to have that impact. And I could not do it without TeamFranklinCounty, as I often say.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:01:30

And it takes talent, it takes passion, it takes dedicated members around you. So I am pleased today to have a guest who's not new to Franklin county by no measure, but a relatively new member within Franklin County's administration. And I am pleased to introduce to TALK of the COUNTY listeners our newest Deputy County Administrator, Dmeka Withers.

Damika Withers [: 00:01:58

Thank you.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:02:00

So, DCA Withers, tell us a little bit about your background. You can go back as far as you want to go and what, you know, kind of laid the foundation for you to be in this position, serving as a deputy county administrator in the largest county in the state of Ohio.

Damika Withers [: 00:02:27

Well, I never thought that I would be in this position. I'm really grateful to serve as Deputy County Administrator. And I first want to thank you for having me here on the Talk of the county podcast. It has been great seeing all the different guests. And so I'm just honored to be a part of the honoree as a guest here. My service and public service was, I mean, quite frankly, something how we, I think, was raised. But that wasn't what I went to school to do. I wanted to be on your nightly news as your nightly journalism journalist talking about what was happening in the community.

Damika Withers [: 00:03:09

But it didn't work out that way. So at Kent State, I changed my degree from journalism to Human development and Family studies. And we had an opportunity during that time to kind of explore in our internships what type of public service we want to be in. So I interned at mental wellness facilities. I've interned with children's services, also interned with a public service entity that was providing community service block grants to help for emergency assistance like electric rent payments. We worked a lot with homeless shelters and other resources in Portage county. And that kind of caught my attention. That was kind of bit the bug.

Damika Withers [: 00:03:54

The bug bit me, I guess, for public service, which really started my career in direct service delivery and health and Human services. So from that it was just on. I kind of tried to find positions that were kind of fed that niche and that interest. So started off as an eligibility specialist too at Geauga County Job and Family Services. At the time was making appointments for case managers who were seeing residents for food assistance, cash and Medicaid appointments, but then also did emergency management like I was doing in my intern. I determined an eligibility for that. So 24 years in and 24 years later, where I thought my career would take me to just being a trainer as it related to public service policy in the health and human services realm. And things never quite worked out the way that I expected them to, but for all good reasons.

Damika Withers [: 00:05:01

And now I'm here serving as deputy county administrator.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:05:04

Yeah, Google Maps does not have a route for your life.

Damika Withers [: 00:05:08

No, that's not.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:05:11

Life has many twists and turns. Yeah, life be lifey as folks say. So. No, totally get it. So your undergraduate experience was at Kent State University. Go golden flashers.

Damika Withers [: 00:05:28

Yes, Go, go.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:05:31

School is not really known for the size that it is when you look at the size of all our colleges and universities here. But you also are what upward mobility looks like because you didn't just stop your education after receiving your bachelor's after going on the front lines and working in human services, you went a different approach. But at the end of the day, you were able to obtain education level above a Bachelor of Arts. Talk a little bit about that. And how did you balance all the competing things in life to accomplish those? And now you know, you can be seen on LinkedIn as a guest lecturer.

Damika Withers [: 00:06:27

Yes. Which is exciting. In 2014, I started my Master's of Public Administration program at Ohio University at the same time that I was administrative officer at Job and Family Services for our publicly funded child care division. We talk about balance. My daughter was 3. My son was in junior, just starting junior high at 11. And we were in basketball and all of the things that comes with a parent of young children. But OU made it really accessible for me to start school and to focus on that.

Damika Withers [: 00:07:12

Then I took an evaluation class that went over logic models and process mapping and what that looked like and something that I implemented with changing how we do service in our lobbies and how we provided service to our residents as it related to publicly funded childcare. And I was like, oh, this worked. Literally was able to learn something and apply it, which I love. Why I love the Master's of Public Administration program at OU so much. And then I said, you know what? I think I'm good I don't need to get this master's degree, but then went back in 2019 to finish my degree as I was serving as assistant director of the Office of Aging because it was important at that time. Where my career was taking me was a lot of change management, a lot of policy related things that I was doing, looking at families from a holistic point of view. So learning about things like theory of change and being able to not only learn, but actually apply and use those same models that I did previously. And so I graduated with my master's in public administration in 2021.

Damika Withers [: 00:08:31

And like you mentioned, I have gone back several times to speak to on campus MPA students about what public service looks like because I think sometimes folks miss what they could really apply to public service from all the background when it comes to data. It's not so much the outbreak thing. So it's good to be in a classroom. I think that's part of what I like to do is talk to the students.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:01

Yeah. Ohio University's George Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service does an excellent job of bringing people back to talk to students. And you know, it's more difficult to be what you don't see. So part of our obligation in these positions is to be present and representative as much as we can, to talk to different audiences so that young people, someone middle age, there's not a 24 hour shot clock literally on your life preventing you from being able to do X, Y, Z. Yes, we all are here for a limited amount of time, but it's never too late. I was listening to this podcast about the majority of millionaires become millionaires after the age of 50. And many times, even as myself growing up, 30 was like my threshold in my mind that if I didn't own a house, if I didn't have at least a job that I was happy with, I had failed and the rest of the life was going to be catch up. But 30 is the new 40 is, you know, you got plenty, you have time.

Damika Withers [: 00:10:24

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:25

And you know, if I could look back, you know, patience is tough, but we're not alone when I talk to and we're going to get into this in the work that you do. I love internship, I love mentorships, I love pre apprenticeships because they provide people opportunity to obtain middle class lifestyles and they maybe don't have to immediately go and even spend two years for an associate degree. But I have conversations with young people, they're like, I don't think I can do no 13 weeks I'm like 13 weeks. I'm like, let me show you my resume and show you all the days and the pain that it takes to get. There's a process. It's not like people want that. We used to say they want microwave results, but that was before the air fryer. Now young people want air fryer results.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:11:26

They beyond the microwave, they want air fryer results in life. They want to walk out to school and walk into the car of their choice, whether it's a hybrid EV or whatever. Like it's supposed to just all fall into place.

Damika Withers [: 00:11:40

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that one of the things I talked to the students recently about was leading where you currently are and where can I celebrate those air fryer results from what I'm doing in the moment to kind of get to where I want to be. I think benchmarks can move. Like you at 30, I think mine was 40 or I would say I need to have certain things and have the car or be in a certain. Have a certain impact. But like we mentioned, never really works out that way. Is doing the most excellent thing that you can do in the moment and building those stones as we move forward.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:12:25

I lived in the state of Ohio, I think maybe 34 years. And when I interview people from certain places, I know certain things. So I'm gonna go off the script and I'm not going to allow this podcast to take place without affording you the opportunity to rep your city and talk about your city, because alumni of this city has so much pride. So I'm not gonna steal the show by saying that I'm just going to.

Damika Withers [: 00:12:58

Turn it over to you. No, I appreciate that. You know, I'm originally from Youngstown, Ohio, born and bred. The core of my family still lives there. Was raised in a very family oriented family, supported family. My parents worked at General Motors, Lordstown for over 35 years. That's how they raised us. That's how they put three independent, strong girls through college who have varying degrees, who are all working in some type of public service field.

Damika Withers [: 00:13:32

So Young Sound is a student in the Ohio University class that I just spoke to and I opened it up for questions and at the end she said, I never talk about where I'm from. And she appreciated the fact that I mentioned that. And she asked me, how do you continue to not forget where you are and how does that apply to where you are today? And you know, a lot of what I was explaining to her was I find pride in where I was raised and who I was raised by. And my life experiences. I would not be who I am today if those things did not shape me. And I never forget where I come from, partly because, I mean, it's who I am. It's the heart of who I am. It keeps me grounded, it keeps me humble.

Damika Withers [: 00:14:24

And I know that three hours north from here, life is very different for those residents. Same similar issues here in Franklin county, but minimal resources and innovation and challenges may look different. And so our city has changed in so many different ways. And I just. I never forget of how it is now and what it used to be. It is a part of definitely who I am.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:55

Yeah, There is quite a group of individuals that are successful and have been successful in central Ohio that have come from what I've been told to be known as the yo.

Damika Withers [: 00:15:12

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:15:13

And there's even an event that's called yo to the Bus, where y' all go leave Columbus and go back home. And I mean, that is. That's like, cool, though, because we all, you know, hold on our hometowns to certain respects, but some of us don't go back. Don't go back often because they don't. You know, I think there's some value into looking back. And again, you know, when people can hear about you or see you. Oh, man, you came up. You did.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:15:50

X, Y, Z. Now, talking about that question leads me to the next thing I'm going to put out there and we just going to just talk about it, because you didn't get as many promotions in this position during your tenure there, but yet you get credit for it. Talk of the county podcasters, DCA Weathers is probably the first ever person in her position to have ever been a member of the United Auto Workers and working in the GM plant. And tell them about all your expansive, important roles within GM as an autoworker.

Damika Withers [: 00:16:38

Oh, man, I. I spent one summer there that was not as successful as my older sister, but we having to put in engines and put on bumpers and put on alternators and put on.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:16:55

Hold on. I did come on podcast. You need to tell the talk of the county people I was giving you your cred for being an auto worker. Now you gonna say you put an.

Damika Withers [: 00:17:05

Engine in a transmission in it is serious business.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:17:08

They say don't buy no car on Friday. DCA wheelers for the engine in there.

Damika Withers [: 00:17:14

I wonder where that this was years ago, years ago.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:17:18

1992 Chevy Cavalier with the engine in that you put in.

Damika Withers [: 00:17:24

Yes, the line was very important. And the engines would come down on a rope and a line you had to make sure you aligned it up in the car. I was not here to talk about how successful I was in that position because I did stop the line a lot with having to maneuver all of the parts that went into a vehicle. So what I was successfully able to do was put the stickers on the car that used to have to go on the back of the vehicle.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:00

See, see, folks, I knew we were gonna come around to her putting a very important sticker in Warning, objects are closer than you may think. That's what she. She put on the stick. Said warning options are more closer than you think. That's an important sticker, though. Cause they needed to know that was an important safety feature, that rear view mirror. People might think that object what they want you to gl the ones. You know.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:28

It was closer than.

Damika Withers [: 00:18:29

It was important. But, you know, like I mentioned, my parents work there. I have really great memories of them having family days and. Or the folks that they would work with and who we hung out with. And it was an experience that I had and I appreciate that I had that experience. It made me appreciate even more of what my parents have done for us. But it brings back a lot of memories and relates to kind of what I'm doing today.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:57

Okay, now we're going to pivot and we're going to talk about how do you see yourself evolving in this role and things that you would like to accomplish. You know, of course I know the Office of Economic Engagement Community Development work is a passion of yours. I know how you feel about community and the community partnership grants that we have that are all linked to the Rise Together poverty blueprint and those 13 goals 120 action steps that we our unapologetic position around fighting for equity for each and every resident of this county. Talk about your thoughts as you enter into new spaces as having purchasing and procurement and postage and all of those other things that are on your list of assigned duties now.

Damika Withers [: 00:20:23

Yeah, I'm definitely learning a lot more than what I have been intimately working with. So grateful for that opportunity. But as it relates to equity and access and opportunity that's seeped into all forms of our government here at Board of Commissioners agencies, and even with purchasing and procurement with the mailroom, making sure that those services are accessible. Just recently, our print shop added online orders of making, of accessing, being accessible to the print shop and the orders that they are able to get. As opposed to having a different system that now is more streamlined, giving folks opportunity to have more connection, understanding what the print shop does Our purchasing department right now is going through a revamp of their organizational structure and operations and what they're going to be able to provide businesses and in our internal constituents as it relates to the training, development, understanding our procurement processes better. So I'm excited to be a part of those new visions and being able to still be a part of seeping in what equity means and what opportunity means and accessibility means in different formats, even with Fleet and working to grow our workforce and improve our representation of the employees there and the work that they are doing at Fleet and how they have to be innovative with changes in security and IT and what that looks like for the cars and providing training for that staff. So like you mentioned, you know, community and the work that we have been able to do here through economic engagement, community development also those principles seep into the other divisions that are now in my charge. So it's been exciting for these first kind of 60 days to learn more, to work with folks who have great institutional knowledge, who are passionate about the work that they have been doing.

Damika Withers [: 00:22:44

And these are things that people don't see, that aren't always outward facing, that don't get sometimes the news or part of on the social media feed. But this is part of what makes government work. And I love being a part of the behind the scenes and things that help create what you see outwardly. So I'm just excited to be able to help grow and provide new vision and new opportunities for those divisions.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:15

Procurement is a real big deal when we talk about Franklin county being a $2.2 billion enterprise and that's a lot of procurement, that's a lot of contracts for goods and services and the economic impact of that spending. A lot of times people think about being a taxpayer paying taxes, but that money goes back into the community. When you pay your taxes, it goes back into community benefit. And your government does matter because when you have an effective and efficient government where you're paying taxes, you get better results. And as a taxpayer, that's what you should ask for. Measure your government based upon the quality of the services received and ask us what we're doing if you don't. That's one of the purposes of this podcast is I said from the very beginning, day one was to educate our residents to be informative as possible and to a role of governments through its policy and through its work is to provide a sense of hope for every single resident no matter where they at that they are going to be in a better position or they are afforded the opportunity to be in a better position than they were the day before. Every day should be a new day where people got the opportunity to take steps forward.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:25:21

So, you know, a lot of your work, DCA is really just about that. And it has been talk about the work of entities such as the Columbus Fashion alliance. Talk about the work of the center on Entrepreneurial Development, talk about some of those things that you personally had a hand in helping flourish here in the county. Yeah, that five years ago was like next to nothing.

Damika Withers [: 00:26:02

Yeah. Those two initiatives alone have been very significant in our community. The work that Columbus Fashion alliance is doing to grow the representation in the fashion industry. And for those of you do not know, Franklin county is the third largest fashion industry here in the United States, next to New York and Los Angeles. So to be able to have a hub here in the county that is not only growing representation where those industries, maybe in other communities may have been difficult to infiltrate, we have made that accessible here in Franklin County. Through Columbus Fashion alliance and their Ready to Work program, they've been able to offer businesses who range from different goods and services and entrepreneurs helping them learn what it is to sell their products, what it is for marketing, branding, how to even showcase your product at the store. The Board of Commissioners invested into Columbus Fashion Alliance Store gallery. If you haven't been, just go to the gallery store and see what people right here in Franklin county are doing to sell their goods and services and products in that store and investing that money back here in Franklin County.

Damika Withers [: 00:27:29

Looking forward to the collaboration that Columbus Fashion alliance and Columbus Fashion Council are doing to help provide a hub for fashion and products. And it's not just about the products, it's about the designers, the photographers, the content creators. That partnership has been able to open up opportunity amongst all forms of creativity that you necessarily don't get the quick return on investment or don't see. But the work that the Columbus Fashion alliance has been able to do has been able to provide that opportunity and footprint for those businesses through the center of entrepreneurial development right here on Livingston Bypass. Nelson what Derek Pannell has been able to do, similar to other co working spaces and providing that for businesses and making sure that those co working spaces are affordable. From podcasters to content creators, to those who need a space doing all different entrepreneurial work in Franklin county, there's a space there. The Board of Commissioners invested into that building. Not only that co working space, but also there's a conference space there that is available for use and it has provided opportunities for us to have opportunities there to speak and bring in residents.

Damika Withers [: 00:28:57

It has really become a hub in that community right here on the east side of Columbus where community maybe has been lost from just different resources that have been lost from that in that side of town. But Coed has been able to provide and kind of revitalize that community to provide that space.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:29:20

Yeah, I mean right here in Columbus we have the gallery, as you mentioned, DCA Withers, that you can go in there and get clothing that is organic as you can get the person that designed that piece and put that piece together. It lives right here in Franklin County. So if you, if you want to look good and buy local and it's got some of the coolest stuff you can find anywhere. Some of the stuff is inspired by quotes from, from president of our Board of Commissioners. It is some cool stuff in there. You can get some authentic home based drip at the galleria. It's at 772 North High Street. It's open each day at around 11 o' clock and I think it closes at like 6.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:30:26

So check them out if you want to see some authentic clothes that are designed. Columbus support local fashion and if you are an inspiring entrepreneur or you've already have entrepreneurship or you want. There's one of the coolest co working spaces that Deputy County Administrator Withers spoke to and that's the center for Entrepreneur Development. It's over on 1890 East Main Street. The county is proud to be a supporter of what they're doing there. If you need a place to build your business, you can lease space, rent space. There are so many resources there. So many resources, so many resources there.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:23

So you know, we talk about building up the community by supporting our local businesses. You are supporting community development, you are supporting uplifting your community block by block is what we really should be striving for, to build our community up. Because we're only as good as our. We get blocked. We need to lift up everybody. We don't. We want every zip code within the county. Everyone should be focused on that place to be a place where individuals have a quality of life, that they can be healthy and that they can be prosperous and that they can in fact give back to community.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:32:25

What are you most proud of in your professional career?

Damika Withers [: 00:32:33

I'm most proud of the lives that I've been able to be a part of and impact things that you don't see the conversations that I have with mentees or employees helping people reach their own personal, personal goals. I'm proud of being able to grow a career that I didn't design, but was so grateful that there was space here for me to grow and to learn and to apply. And I'm proud of just being able to continue to serve those who are around me and provide positive influences. I'm glad when I'm able to see old co workers or folks who I've talked to and being able to take those moments and maximize them. And those were important to people. You don't always get to see that. But I'm grateful for folks who can come and say you shared this or you said that, or thank you for helping me do whatever they needed in that moment. And so I'm proud of that.

Damika Withers [: 00:33:49

Those are things that don't go away from me, that I'm honored to even hear that that has happened because it's always been about people and it's always been about helping others.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:05

Okay, we're going to now, as the podcast comes into its final quarter, delve into a pop culture rapid fire.

Damika Withers [: 00:34:20

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:22

Talk of the county pop culture rapid fire with Deputy County Administrator Danika Whitley.

Damika Withers [: 00:34:29

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:31

And we're gonna start slow and we're gonna accelerate. Like the amusement park works. You know how those coasters start off? So we're gonna start off slow in this rapid fire. Then we're gonna speed it up as we build a rhythm here.

Damika Withers [: 00:34:48

Got it?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:49

Think you got it. I'm gonna start off easy.

Damika Withers [: 00:34:52

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:52

I'm gonna start off throwing softballs like a pitching machine.

Damika Withers [: 00:34:57

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:57

Like a pitching machine. Did you play any sports in high school?

Damika Withers [: 00:35:02

I was a cheerleader.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:04

Oh, okay. Cheerleader.

Damika Withers [: 00:35:06

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:06

That's a sport.

Damika Withers [: 00:35:07

That is definitely a sport for all my cheerleaders out there. Absolutely. That is a sport.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:14

I'm being funny. I know that.

Damika Withers [: 00:35:17

That's why I said it so proudly.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:18

I respect the art. The sport of cheerleading.

Damika Withers [: 00:35:23

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:24

Cause you could fall from a long ways if you ain't right.

Damika Withers [: 00:35:27

Absolutely.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:35:31

And I've spent enough time in our greater Columbus Convention center to have a respect for cheerleading, dance, and everything in between, because we support all of that. Bring all. I am pro cheerleader, pro gymnastics, pro volleyball, pro basketball, pro football, pro trade shows. I am pro everything that brings people and to find out how great Franklin county is. So we're just gonna put that out there. So now we just. Now, back to the point.

Damika Withers [: 00:36:04

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:04

Pop culture rapid fire, mountain of beaches, beaches, Coke or Pepsi?

Damika Withers [: 00:36:13

Pepsi.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:17

Monica or Brandy?

Damika Withers [: 00:36:19

Monica.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:22

Mary J. Akeisha Cole.

Damika Withers [: 00:36:24

Mary J.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:27

Michael Jackson or Elvis?

Damika Withers [: 00:36:29

Michael Jackson.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:33

L.A. new York.

Damika Withers [: 00:36:37

I'm an east coast girl. I'll have to stick with New York.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:41

Michael or Kobe.

Damika Withers [: 00:36:45

Michael.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:48

Okay. Ou. Kent State. Went to both.

Damika Withers [: 00:36:56

I went to both.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:57

You gonna say you can cop out? And say you could say even. I'm gonna give you a cop out. You get one cop out pass in the talk of the county popular culture.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:08

Okay. I'm gonna take the cop out pass on that one. They provide different opportunities in different lanes. So.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:18

I'mma let you go on now.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:19

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:21

Washington, D.C. louisiana.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:25

Oh, I would say D.C.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:31

Hawaii or the Bahamas?

Damika Withers [: 00:37:33

Hawaii.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:37

Our grand finale. Drum roll, please. Drum roll, please, for this grand finale question.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:45

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:46

Bengals or Browns? Put it on the record.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:47

Yeah. Cleveland Browns all the way. Born and raised. Can you let that go? Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:52

Dog pound for life.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:53

Dog pound for life.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:54

Dog pound for life.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:54

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:56

Cleveland Browns.

Damika Withers [: 00:37:57

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:58

That's my last question. That was the rapid fire one. That was. I put a remix on it. It's usually a little different than that, but today you got the remix. I think I'm a work.

Damika Withers [: 00:38:10

I appreciate that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:11

I think I'm gonna work with that. I'm gonna work with that.

Damika Withers [: 00:38:13

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:14

I didn't ask you any questions. I only had one left that I didn't ask you. And I asked this on Talk of the County.

Damika Withers [: 00:38:20

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:21

Lemonade, bourbon and wine.

Damika Withers [: 00:38:23

Oh, man. I have to go with wine.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:29

And I always put an asterisk by it in your spare time when you trying to unwind. It's just like, that's what you. Okay.

Damika Withers [: 00:38:35

Yeah. Yeah. That was a tough one, though.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:39

What do you want your next vacation to be if you close your eyes and you could go anywhere in the world?

Damika Withers [: 00:38:44

Italy.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:45

Okay. Italy. Okay. All right. You on. I don't know when you might be back on the Talk of the county podcast. I don't give guarantees. I don't know.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:58

I don't schedule the show, actually.

Damika Withers [: 00:39:00

Oh, okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:01

I don't schedule the show on occasion. I got feedback once upon a time. Now I get suggestions of who I should talk to. So I'm just saying this is your opportunity to tell the folks that listen to this podcast. And of course, you gonna hype this podcast up when it's done, too. And all of your social media outlets. Cause we are think we are officially in the second season of Talk of the County.

Damika Withers [: 00:39:31

We've done enough shows. Congratulations.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:33

To be classified as a second season of this podcast.

Damika Withers [: 00:39:37

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:38

And it's a very competitive space. You know, you could get eliminated. You could, like, be not. You know, they, like, don't put you back. You had to, like, type it in, like three, four times or something. I'm trying not to fall into that status. This is a very competitive space. So you're lucky to be, you know, it's good to be, you know, to be on here.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:59

No, I've been trying, we're trying to blow this up. We're trying to get as many list. I think I'm trying to get up to 100.

Damika Withers [: 00:40:07

Oh, hilarious.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:09

I'm trying to get up to 100. Trying to get up to a hundred.

Damika Withers [: 00:40:13

Well, I hope you like like comment and share and save this this podcast and make sure you're telling your friends and family. I hope I'm able to come back. I appreciate you for having me. I hope I'm, you know, based on the schedulers we I can come back and talk about more things that are happening here at Board of Commissioners as DCA Withers and we didn't get a chance to talk about boards and commission.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:37

We got six minutes left. You got, I told you this your chance. You can try to recruit, you can try to recruit. You can give a website, whatever you want to do.

Damika Withers [: 00:40:45

Please look us up on one Franklin county if you're interested in serving on one of the Franklin county boards, make sure that you are going to learn all things about our Board of Commissioners core principles, the boards that we do have service opportunities for and give us a call, ask us about what's happening here at the county. Come to our general session meetings so you learn how Franklin county is giving back here in the community and utilizing your taxpayer dollars and working here for every resident every day. So looking forward to that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:41:22

So serve on one of our boards. Find that information, learn what service excellence in progress looks like. So board and commission work is a great opportunity. Even a greater opportunity than that is to become a member of Team Franklin County. We are always looking for good people, people with aspirations to serve of people that really want to be part of the change in their community that they seek. So look for the next Coffee careers and more. We are outside in various parts of the community. So seek dates for coffee careers and more is an opportunity to sit down with me as county Administrator and talk about career opportunities with the county as well as any other career opportunities we can link you to.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:42:28

Because we are all about uplifting individuals. Economic mobility is something that we want ingrained in our DNA that we aspiring for each and every resident of Franklin County. So I hope that you've enjoyed this broadcast with DCA d' Amica Withers talking about all things county administration. We now wrap up the way we always do. Do you? Because nobody else has time to thank.

Damika Withers [: 00:43:03

You thank you, Sa.