Kristi Rogers is retiring from her position as Ganado City Secretary after nearly 10 years. Though her smiles and chuckles will still stay in the area, she made the decision to move on due to health issues concerning her battle with thyroid cancer.
“Life is short and can change on a dime: I know from experience. My future plans are to travel…there’s a lot of world to see, and I’m ready to see some of it that I haven’t seen already in my previous career,” she said, speaking of her background in logistics, management, to include emergency management services in the military. “But Ganado will always be my hub.”
Rogers thought back to how it all began. She’d been working part-time at YK Communications and found she still had some fight left inside of her. Wanting to stay local, she asked permission from her son Carson, around the age of 11, to start working full-time. He said yes, and she “threw her hat into the ring, interviewed in front of the council, and got the job.”
Carson, now 21, is a junior at A&M and moving on to law school when he graduates.
Rogers commented on the changes she witnessed over the decade she served. In addition to revitalizing Patman Square, the water tower, street projects and drainage, the changes she’s been a part of have not only been infrastructure, but aesthetics as well.
On the tougher side, she helped the community manage through Hurricane Harvey, a freeze, Hurricane Beryl, and COVID-19.
“Three disasters I’ve worked with FEMA. At one point I had nine grants in the pipe at the
see ROGERS RETIRES on page A3
Family support
Kristi Rogers with her husband Jeff and son Carson.
same time,” she recalled. “I’m leaving with a big grant still in the pipe; three years ago I thought we might be done with it, but we’re barely halfway through.”
Debra Alaniz, Municipal Court Clerk, has been with the City of Ganado for 32 years. The two brought up never-to-be-forgotten memories while sitting next to each other over the years. They remembered Rogers having to stand on top of a table in order to take a picture of a large map in the office for developers. Another memory was Rogers going to an abandoned house to meet a beekeeper after hours to remove bees.
“We’ve laughed a lot,” Alaniz said. “Kristi has done so much and dives into her work. She came in, learned everything by herself, took over, and everything fell into place. She’s even been learning Spanish.”
Becoming bilingual was Rogers’ goal within the Spanish-speaking community, in order to put everyone at ease and find trust in her when they shared their concerns.
“I’ve always said if I was fluent in Spanish I’d have a lot more friends,” she said. “But I have the utmost respect for absolutely everyone in the community.”
Time flies but the days are slow.
The moments she’ll miss most about the customers is watching others grow up. From a young woman announcing her pregnancy, to seeing her with a baby carriage, and then watching that child grow up in Ganado… those moments Rogers said she’ll miss the most.
“Other memories are of getting those ‘middle-ofthe- night calls’ to set up shelter during a hurricane or freeze, my husband Jeff and I would join forces with other team members to set up a shelter for those in the community,” she said.
Essentially, Rogers just wants to leave a legacy of progress, with more improved processes and a mindset of never regressing. The city secretary position was vacant when she joined, so without training, she attended what she said was ‘You-Tube University.’
“I just want the next person to pick up the ball and run with it; pass the baton, it’s your turn,” she said.
Ganado’s Christmas on the Square has been one of her happiest accomplishments: when Rogers began working for the city, people were paying 10 dollars for an armband. After finding sponsorships, the event has been free to everyone for the last nine years, “I’ve always appreciated the support from the mayor and council, I’ve always very much appreciated and am grateful for their support and stewardship,” Rogers said. “I’ll miss my co-workers, and the community’s support has been a true blessing over the years.
“The support of my family has been key,” she added, “because at times, the job can be a challenge, not necessarily hard, but you must figure things out along the way. My family has been supportive through it all.”
Rogers said, we’re not going to cry because it’s over, we’re going to laugh because it happened, and there’s never been a truer statement.
