Charlene Cravens wakes up to go to work knowing she might be cussed out for doing her job well.
She’s part of a team of four city employees, all women, who work for Athens Parking Enforcement, the division of the police department that hands out tickets for various parking violations in the city.
“It’s just a way to pay bills,” Cravens said. “I didn’t imagine that I would do this and raise our two boys here. I didn’t think anything of it. I was just getting a job to help us financially.”
She’s lived in Athens since her husband was transferred from Hoover National Forest to Wayne National Forest 25 years ago. She said she never saw herself as remaining with the division a quarter-century later.
Jennifer McClain-Eskey, a much newer addition to the staff, first joined parking enforcement three years ago after serving a tour in Iraq as a dining facility supervisor and formerly working as a probation officer.
The other two parking enforcement officers declined to comment for this report.
“I don’t think anyone grows up saying, ‘I want to be a parking enforcement officer,’” McClain-Eskey said. “That’s typically not on one of those tests you take. It’s usually doctor or lawyer or cop and that kind of stuff. It’s not the sought-after position. It’s a good job and I work in a great department.”
Though there is a good working environment, the difficulties of the job are obvious. Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said the parking enforcement officers have some of the toughest day-to-day assignments.
“Well, no one likes getting tickets,” McClain-Eskey said. “I’ve never met a single person who jumped up and down for joy when they got a parking ticket, regardless of whether it was a $10 ticket or a $30 ticket.”
The team of four—along with some police officers—wrote 25,699 parking tickets in 2012, generating more than $360,000 in revenue, according to a previous Post article. Those tickets come from yellow-line violations, 24-hour parking mishaps, unpaid meters, general poor parking and others.She added that they have to go into the situation with a smile and bring a positive aspect to a potentially negative situation.
Of course, sometimes it’s hard to stay positive when someone receiving a ticket is spouting profanities, which is a reality now and then.
“People will spout out obscenities at us as they drive by, stuff like ‘get a real job b---h’ or ‘f--k you,’” McClain-Eskey said. “Sometimes, if you’ve been hollered at four or five times in a day, you can get really stressed knowing that you’re just doing your job and yet you’re getting called names.”
She said her co-workers comfort each other when the days become painful.
“I don’t think a ... person could put up with that (if it were a daily occurrence),” Cravens said. “Most of the time we just see the vehicle.”
While both had their worst moments on the job ingrained in their heads, Cravens had one horror story she said stood out.
“I had to tow somebody and I think it was finals week. It was for unpaid parking tickets,” Cravens said. “They owed a lot, and he came out and was just livid.
“His dad had just passed away, and he said that his dad was going to take care of me.”
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@akarl_smith
