After 21 Years of Service, Greg Hester Retires

After more than two decades of service, Canton’s handyman-in-chief has hung up his tool belt.

Greg Hester, who joined the township in 1990 as a maintenance technician, has retired after 21 years of service.

“Throughout his career, Greg’s commitment and loyalty to the job has always shown passionately," said Phil LaJoy, Canton township supervisor, who went on to applaud Hester's hard work and dedication, including never missing a day of work. “Greg’s easy-going style, friendship and sense of humor have touched many people in the community.”

As the lead maintenance technician, Hester oversaw the upkeep and day-to-day operations of the township’s 50 facilities, including all parks and buildings. He was also instrumental in the set-up of all of Canton’s events, as well as the timely response to emergency situations related to mechanics, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling.

“He’s a jack of all trades,” said Paula Kosbe, the township's volunteer coordinator. “He knows everything there is to know about maintenance. He’s like a light fixture: He’s always on, always there. He will certainly be missed by a lot of people.”

Among the challenges he faced in his career, Hester said, were the moving of the historic Bartlett-Travis House to Preservation Park from its former location near Canton Center and Warren roads, as well as  construction.

The biggest challenge, he said, was assuming the many responsibilities that came along with his 2006 promotion to lead maintenance technician; he was in charge of the mechanical equipment in all of the township’s buildings, as well as the entire maintenance staff.

“We went from two grounds people and two maintenance people when I started to what we are today,” he said. “The buildings have doubled in size, the township’s employees have more than doubled, and the parks and recreation department is second to none.”

While Hester said that he will miss the job, all his friends and colleagues, he cites the opportunity to bond with family at this point in his life as the motivation for retiring. He said that he plans to restart his family heating and cooling business, Hester's Heating and Cooling, which he ran for more than 20 years, until his 2006 promotion.

“It’s definitely going to be a different lifestyle around here without him,” said Josh Smith, a maintenance worker with the township and one of Hester's close friends. “We’re going to miss his good stories, his constant jokes and his reminiscing about old classic cars.”