Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990 TAG: 9007060359
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CATHRYN MCCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Evidently, so did her future boss, Town Manager Ron Secrist, who hired her from among 148 applicants to be assistant town manager.
After just six weeks on the job, that click is still loud and clear, says Svrcek (pronounced "svair-check").
"I would not give this up for anything," she says.
Svrcek, 34, came to Blacksburg from Fairfax County, where five years as a senior budget analyst turned her into a self-professed workaholic.
It was time to move to a smaller community, and though she'd never been here, she'd heard good things about the town from friends and Virginia Tech alumni.
Blacksburg has made the big-city girl feel right at home.
"Here you get a real sense of community. You can walk into a bank and someone knows you. That's a feel-good feeling."
She also admits a need to see tangible results from her work - something she didn't often experience in Fairfax.
Here in Blacksburg, she will oversee the town's 194 full-time and 115 part-time employees, the fire and rescue squads and customer relations department, and prepare the capital improvements program and the upcoming $3.25 million bond issue.
"That's why public service is so fascinating to me, because I can see how local government affects people."
Even her favorite pastimes - cross-stitching and shopping - yield tangible results.
Also, she says, elected officials in Fairfax County too frequently meddled in the day-to-day operations. In Blacksburg, the Town Council trusts its staff to handle the town's business.
"If you don't have that [trust] you might as well hang it up," she says. "I think it's a very cordial relationship" between council and staff.
By far the most challenging duty will be her role as personnel supervisor, she says, "because there's no cookbook. Each situation is different."
But she's discovered that dealing with employees chiefly takes common sense, so she's found she's better at it than she thought she would be.
The biggest change, Svrcek says, is getting used to having free time. So far, she's been busy moving into her new house in Meadow Run and brushing the fur balls out of Julie, her Himalayan cat who is shedding her winter coat like mad.
On weekends, she drives around Montgomery County and the rest of the New River Valley, growing familiar with the place and sometimes getting lost - all part of moving to a new area, she says.
by CNB