Melissa Maddison loves living in the Town of Queen Creek and appreciates the clean and homey look of the community. It was partly due to those reasons that she applied for the position of Neighborhood Preservation Specialist when she made the decision to return to the workforce after staying at home to raise her three sons. Despite only having worked for the Town for slightly over a month, Melissa already understands the importance of her role in making the community look better.

“I like the neighborhood to look good, the Town to look good,” said Melissa. “I love helping to maintain the Town. It’s a nice place to be, to live, to shop.”

A typical day for Melissa includes taking in calls from residents, looking over complaints that have been filed using the mobile application “QC Connection,” and hopping in a Town truck to look for ordinance and code violations. Fliers advertising garage sales on stop signs and utility poles are often the biggest offenders in neighborhood preservation, and Melissa works face-to-face with residents to keep the community looking sharp.

“We also take care of any graffiti in Town and noise complaints,” said Melissa. “Our job is to help people understand the different ordinances in Town.”

“Having professionals like Melissa enforcing the Town’s regulations is an important piece of keeping Queen Creek a safe and beautiful place to live and work,” said Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney. “Her positive attitude and empathetic nature make her the perfect person for this role and a great representative for our community.”

Drawing from her previous career experience as a sixth grade teacher, Melissa says respectful communication is key to her work with Queen Creek’s residents. Her friendly smile and calm approach when confronting residents about complaints help make her job easier.

“I think if you go up and be nice to people they will generally be nice back,” said Melissa on her customer service philosophy.

As a resident of Queen Creek, Melissa is proud of her community and its history. She believes the most important aspect of her job is to preserve the history and to maintain the niceness of the Town and the community.

“I love being able to see crops and horses on my drives,” said Melissa. “It’s a neat place to come and live. As a neighborhood preservationist, I want to make sure it stays that way and to encourage people to be here, to do their shopping here and to live here.”

To learn more about the QC Connection program, visit QueenCreek.org/QCConnection. To keep up-to-date on all the Town’s activities and programs, follow us at www.facebook.com/QueenCreek, www.Twitter.com/TOQC_official and www.instagram.com/TOQC_official.

Written by :  Jen Snyder