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The sudden and unexpected death of Eagle Mountain's civic events planner Lynn Story three weeks before the city's annual celebration has brought its staff and residents together to help organize Pony Express Days and dedicate it to her.
A mandatory city meeting was called May 5 where Mayor Heather Jackson announced Story, known for her effervescent personality and love for the community, had died on May 4 while on vacation with family. The moment gave staff time to respond to the news.
"Staff has come together," Angie Ferre said in an interview May 8. "We will be fine. [Story] has worked on this enough in advance."
Like a military tactical operations leader, Ferre sits behind one of an adjoining series of long, portable tables temporarily set up before the council stood in the Eagle Mountain Council Chambers. She has just finished a meeting with city staff organizing plans of action for Pony Express Days.
Losing Story has placed the responsibility of overseeing the annual city celebration set for May 27 to June 7 back on the shoulders of Ferre, the executive assistant to the mayor and city administrator, who until this year was the chief organizer for the event.
The response to city leaders' call for help to staff has turned a possible negative situation into a very positive one and a synergy of teamwork appears to have taken place of the initial reaction of shock upon learning of Story's death. It has helped them work through their grief.
"We're all just jumping in, doing what we can do," said administrative secretary Helen Watson and smiled back towards Ferre. "She's Angie Ferre aka Lynn Story."
Staff are taking up responsibilities Ferre would normally be doing, freeing her to devote more time to Pony Express Days. Whether the city celebration or in her position as executive assistant to the mayor and city administrator, she has been overwhelmed by everyone who wants to help.
"I mean I haven't even been able to look at anything to find out where we're at because I have had so many people asking 'What can I do? What can I do?' " Ferre said. "I'm just delegating from past experience I know that we need to get done."
Ferre said she planned to spend the weekend going over records accessing what had been done and yet needed to be done. Meanwhile, she has help from nearly every department and organization in the city.
"We're just stepping it up for a while," said Youth Council advisor Robert Hall. "Everyone's pulling together kind of helping each other out ... they asked us to do a little bit more." |
