Two-time Olympic gold medalist Megan Jendrick has been hired to serve as the Aquatic Services Director for the City of Fife in Washington.
Fife previously ran its aquatics program under the city parks and recreation banner, but as participation skyrockets, the city has decided to break off aquatics into its own separate division of city government, tabbing Jendrick to head it up.
“I’m honored to the have the opportunity to lead this new division for the City of Fife,” said Jendrick. “Our aquatics program is full of employees who love the sport of swimming and the mission of teaching kids water safety, and I know we can continue to grow and improve what we do every day.”
Jendrick was previously the coordinator at the aquatics center in Fife. The city is home to less than 9,500 people, but due to its location between Seattle and Tacoma, it runs some of the largest programs in the state.
“The City of Fife has operated its aquatics center since 1985 and every year we’re finding better ways to improve our services to the community around us,” said Jendrick. “We’re continuing to grow our programs and our team, and I’m eager to implement some exciting new changes for our facility.”
The pool sees over 12,000 kids go through its lesson program annually. They are a USA Swimming Foundation Make-a-Splash partner and the facility/city runs a USA Swimming team that started in late 2014 due to the growth at the facility, much of it thanks Jendrick’s contributions since joining the staff in 2013.
One of Jendrick’s first duties in the new position will be hiring on a recreation coordinator – the position calls for someone with a strong background in swimming and team management, as the job will include some administrative duties for the club team. Applications opened this week, and interested readers can find more information on the city of Fife website here.
Congrats! Smart move for a city!
Having an Olympic gold winner run your aquatics department might be the most appropriate fit I have seen for an athlete post-retirement. But I guess this rules out another comeback?
I’m still hoping Megan Jendrick and Amanda Beard will make another go at it! 2020? Maybe in a Masters meet? We can hope!
She does AMAZING work at that pool! My family has felt very blessed to have our kids there with her
I’m not sure that going from individual Olympic gold to working for a municipality is a step up… but I guess we all have to grow up sometime!
Obviously, its in the eye of the beholder. She will continue to do a fantastic job and if its something she enjoys and it works well for her and her family I say more power to her!
I don’t see what’s infamous for an olympic gold medalist or anyone else to work for a city and serve the public community.
Quite the contrary, she’s a great example in my opinion.
Working in local government can be a great career…just ask Leslie Knope! In all seriousness, I work as a local government attorney, after graduating from a Top 10 law school, and find the work to be rewarding, the pay to be competitive (for the public sector), and the work life balance to be fantastic. Working in local government means you get to serve constituents at the most personal level. No need to knock local government!