This month’s mystery employee is lifelong Knoxvillian Rodney Wilson!

The Equipment Technician in the Fleet Shop repairs and maintains the City’s small machines, like lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws –700-something pieces of equipment between him and another tech. 

One thing about Rodney is that he likes to make people laugh. "I'm a goofy person," he says. "I like joking around." 

Another thing about Rodney is that he has long hair.  

“I’ve had long hair since 1973," he says, referring to himself as a “long-haired hippie.” 

Sometimes he has really long hair -- but not merely for fashion. On three occasions Rodney has grown out his hair to the 12-18 inches required to donate the resulting ponytail to a charity that makes real-hair wigs for children going through chemotherapy.

He has nine grandchildren and a soft spot for kids going through hard times; he mentions St. Jude's as a favorite charity of his and his late mother's. 

He also loves animals, especially his cats Baby Girl, who is 3, and Shiloh, a rambunctious kitten who loves to play. 

"I love my job and the people I work with," Rodney says. 

And they love him back: in 2019, Rodney was a finalist for Employee of the Year.