East Central Planning and Development director William “Bill” Richardson was honored for his 50 years of service during a retirement reception Thursday at Clarke-Venable Baptist Church.
Around 100 guests attended the reception, which included workers from ECPDD, local government officials, state officials and even a visit by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
Lavera Chapman, who worked closely with Richardson at ECPDD, said he prepared you to answer all kinds of questions so that you were ready for anything a person would throw at you.
“He’d throw a question at you that you didn’t think of, and you’d have to tell him, ‘Bill, I didn’t think about that question,’” Chapman said. “But I do appreciate what he has given to me in training me to be the worker that I am. He was and is a good person to work with. Now, he’s not the sweetest person at all times, but he will fuss with you, argue with you, scream at you and then a 12 o’clock, he’d say, ‘OK, let’s go eat.’”
The workers presented Richardson with several gifts, including a new iPad Pro, which family members joked about him taking a long time to figure out. Richardson said he credits the success of his tenure to the staff.
“I can’t prove it, but I know it’s true that we have the best staff anywhere,” Richardson said. “We appreciate all the help and support that we got from everybody over the years.
“It’s been a great journey. It’s a great place to work, a privilege and a blessing to be able to work for such a special place for as many years. You have to work somewhere a long time to be able to stay there for 50 years. That’s the biggest accomplishment I have right now. I’m going to miss everybody. I think that’s going to be the hardest part of leaving. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to do, but some of you I may never see again. I know that’s the way life is.”
