After 30 years with the city, Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department Director Joe Kirchner will retire Aug. 3 and he will leave a far larger and better department than it was when he started in 1983.

However, he’s quick to point out that any accolades he gets primarily belong to the people he says he’s been privileged to work around and the stability of the city’s government, including its city councils and three mayors (Joe B. Jackson, Richard Reeves and Tommy Bragg) and three city managers (Bart Fite, Roger Haley and Rob Lyons).

Kirchner’s list of accomplishments and recognitions is long. It includes such titles as membership on the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Legislative Committee in 1990, its program committee in 1987, assistant association secretary and treasurer from 1992 to 1998, winner of the George Warren Fuller Award in 1998, Professional Engineer of the Year in 2011 and a member of the National Association Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004. He’s also been Middle Tennessee Chairman of the Tennessee Water Quality Managers Association and a member of the Water Environment Federation.