Charlene Cravens spent her career as an Athens parking enforcement officer, often seen Uptown chalking tires or writing parking tickets.
In December, she celebrated 30 years with the Athens Police Department, but on March 30, she wrote her final ticket into retirement.
She said she became a parking officer from an ad she saw in the paper.
“I worked some odd jobs, and I just kept a lookout on the paper,” Cravens said. “It takes two to make things work these days.”
Cravens said she took a civil service test for the job because it was outside, and then things “all came to be.”
“At the time we didn’t have a family, but we since have had two sons,” Cravens said. “Just to take care of the family and have part of the American Dream.”
She said her favorite part of the job was being outside. Cravens said she has a degree in forestry but never put it to use.
Cravens said she also loved interacting with people.
“Depending on what route I was working, there were people I would see and converse with,” Cravens said. “Most of the time it was a medial conversation about weather. It was just a smile and an acknowledgement.”
There were challenging parts to her job, too, Cravens said. She said it was a challenge to remember that people had lives outside of their work or school.
“It’s trying to remember to have empathy and to understand that this is not the only thing on each other’s plates,” Cravens said. “For them thinking about me and me thinking about them.”
The job of a parking enforcement officer is more physical than mental, Cravens said. After 30 years, Cravens said she started to hurt, which is one of the reasons for her retirement.
“It was getting increasingly harder for me to walk and get productive,” Cravens said. “I was getting in pain. I got my 30 years in.”
Since her retirement, Cravens said she now enjoys flower gardening and doing little projects.
“Every day is like Saturday now,” Cravens said. “I get up, leisurely, and then I look and go, ‘what am I going to get into today?’ Depending on the weather, it depends on if I’m inside or outside.”
Peter Kotses, the chair of the transportation committee for Athens City Council, said filling Craven’s job will be about finding the right person.
“The big thing is finding the right people that will take on the task,” Kotses said.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said he does not know who will be the next person in the position.
“We will have to do a search,” Patterson said. “At this point in time, we’re kind of holding back on that position.”
Patterson said Cravens is missed by the city because she was always pleasant to be around.
“She did a great job as one of our several parking enforcement officers,” Patterson said. “I’ve watched her interact with people who might be getting a violation or close to getting one, and she has the same demeanor.”
Cravens said she loved the ability to meet people through her job, whether it was students or people.
“It’s just been my pleasure to meet so many wonderful people in the Athens community,” Cravens said.
