Kendall County’s Mary Ellen Schulle reigns as the state’s top county engineer, having recently received the state’s County Engineer of the Year award.
Schulle, the county’s engineer since September 2023 after more than seven years as its development engineer, received the honor during the Texas Association of County Engineers and Road Administrators’ Oct. 31 convention.
Schulle was recognized during Monday’s Kendall County Commissioners Court meeting.
The engineering organization presents two awards annually, one for the top county engineer and another for county road employee of the year. This year, Kendall County returned from the convention winning both awards — Schulle for top county engineer and Don Evans, the county’s Road and Bridges Department road supervisor, as top county road employee.
Wayne Gisler, Karnes County road engineer, spoke to the commissioners Monday about Schulle and the award.
“I have had the opportunity to work with your staff quite frequently. You have some very qualified people,” Gisler said, “and I’ve gotten a sense of how challenging their jobs are, just because of the influx of people into the Hill Country from all directions.”
TACERA evaluates its nominees based on their public works management capabilities, promoting public safety, enhancing road infrastructure and dedication to administration of county road management requirements.
Gisler said Schulle was judged against stiff competition from around the state. He said her expertise stood out.
“With people moving in (to Kendall County) and all the developments, you guys are knocking it out of the park,” Gisler said.
“One of my passions is to ... keep our culture while we’re going through this growth. I love coming to the Hill Country and seeing it,” he said, adding, “It’s a struggle, but you guys are doing it right.”
County Precinct 1 Commissioner Christina Bergmann attended the TACERA conference to watch Schulle and Evans receive their awards.
“From visiting with attendees at the conference, it really instilled that we have some great employees,” Bergmann said. She alluded to remarks from Gisler about the frequent difficult situations Schulle’s Roads and Bridges Department must deal with.
“ It is not always a thankful job. A lot of times they are enforcing rules that the court sets and the public may not necessarily like that,” Bergmann said. “I feel honored to have both of these individuals on our staff.”
Comment
Comments