Lemmons is proud of the work he has done on City Council

RANDOLPH — Community leader Tim Lemmons has ended his service on the City Council after a decade.

He also spent a decade serving on the fire department including helping secure $325,000 in grants during that time. He also served on the ambulance crew.

"I was amazed at his expertise in a lot of fields,'' Mayor George Bradley said of Lemmons. "He knew a lot about many things.''

Lemmons said Bradley was fine to work with as a mayor.

"He stepped up and did what was needed,'' Lemmons said of Bradley. "He was a quiet leader. He let the Council discuss the options then he would let us choose the best path for the community.''

Lemmons has moved to Norfolk because of a promotion he has earned. He and his family had lived in Randolph for 16 years.

He said the decision to move was also motivated by the opportunity to help with childcare for his daughter who is now a parent also lives in Norfolk and works at Faith Regional.

Lemmons has worked for the company now titled Corteva Agri Science for four years. He is a territory leader. He has also worked as a University of Nebraska Extension Specialist.

"Working with the Extension Department for 12 years, I learned about a lot of things and had an opportunity to get into just about everything,'' Lemmons said.

Lemmons’ service for the Randolph community has also included serving on the St. Frances Catholic Church Council.

Lemmons said they first located in Randolph because his wife's mother lived here.

"Anyone who has the opportunity to live in a small town should,'' Lemmons said.

He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He earned his MBA in operations and finance from the University of Colorado. His terminal degree was also earned at UNL in business leadership.

He said his studies, especially his doctorate work, related well to his city council service.

“Anytime you have an opportunity to study what you are working on in instruction it provides an opportunity to evaluate things from different perspectives and provide advice,’’ he said.

As a councilman, Lemmons said his biggest accomplishment has been the floodplain project.

“Getting the work done on that has been huge,’’ he said. “The project should be ready to have dirt turned in November.’’

During my 10 years as councilman, Lemmons said the street improvement project has also been a large accomplishment as well as improvements around the parks and ball fields of Randolph.

“We have a good group of people to work with,’’ Lemmons said of the council. “We talk about every challenge and evaluated the options to see what was the most beneficial. It is everyone’s desire to do what is best for the community. The flood plain was a 10-year battle. It is nice to see that turn dirt. It will allow Randolph to compete.’’

Going in with an open mind is important in working with the council, according to Lemmons. He said you have to allow yourself to learn and work with different groups inside the community.

“It is always hard to come in from outside,’’ Lemmons said of when he first moved to Randolph. “The people of Randolph were welcoming. Coming into the community, people were great and having children in school was a great way to get to know people. I think sports were important within the community. It made a difference for our children to be in smaller groups and this gave them an opportunity to excel and receive more personal attention from instructors to help them excel.’’

His work on grants for emergency response work has been something that Lemmons said makes him feel good.

“It feels good to have made a difference and it is awesome to watch our projects evolve and continue to completion,’’ he said. “I look forward to continuing to visit the community. I also intend to continue to help the community secure grants for emergency services.’’

Lemmons and his wife, Jennifer, have four children. They are Mackenzie, Caitlin, Mollie and Sam.

Jennifer Lemmons graduated from Lincoln. Lemmons is a native of Colorado Springs, Colo.

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