A Southwestern College student working on his master’s degree in business administration is being groomed to become director of the Cowley County computer and information department.
The commission approved an agreement with Lucas Goff during a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. He will continue as deputy director of the Management Information Systems department until the present director, Charlene Morris, retires next spring.
Goff will earn $44,400. He will earn $54,500 if named director next year, according to County Administrator Leroy Alsup. The agreement runs through 2012 although the terms provide that the commission can eliminate funding or terminate Goff with 30 days written notice.
Morris began working in the department in 1986 and was named director in 1988. “She has done a tremendous job for the county,” Alsup said.
Morris considered retiring several years ago. The commission found while looking for her replacement that they would have to pay $25,000 to $40,000 more than they were paying at the time.
They decided to “grow their own” and persuaded Morris to stay on while she continued training Goff, who was interning under Morris at the time.
“They did offer me more money and that doesn’t hurt on retirement,” Morris said today. “Since the department has grown so much, in good conscience, I couldn’t leave unless they had somebody here to take ownership…
“I would never be happy with myself if I just walked out,” Morris said.
Goff has “the right heart for it,” she said. He cares about the job and the work, and providing a service to others. she said.
“I think you can hire all the talent in the world but you can’t hire somebody who cares. That’s something you’re raised with,” Morris said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s being doing a lot of this stuff for a long time. He’s just amazing.”