Grovetown's Employee of the Year wears many hats

Laura McManus is many things - Grovetown Department of Public Safety communications officer, Grovetown clerk of court, mother of four, Mary Kay agent and parade organizer.

Now McManus can add another title - Grovetown Employee of the Year.

"I was down at (Grovetown) City Hall that day for the swearing in of the new judge and I heard," said McManus, 43. "I was really surprised. I'm really honored to have been selected."

McManus has been the communications officer for the department for the past 11 years. It's a job that makes her feel right at home.

"There are five generations of firefighters in my family," said McManus. "I was looking for a part-time job to make some extra money when this came along. I guess it's in my blood."

McManus, the mother of two grown children and two grown stepchildren with her husband Bennie, also is the city's clerk of court and is the coordinator of Grovetown's annual Christmas parade.

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In her free time, McManus is a beauty consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics and prepares meals for the needy at Thanksgiving with Marvin United Methodist Church.

"When the (city of Grovetown) department heads got together to talk about who should win this, Laura was an obvious choice," said Grovetown Capt. Gary Owens. "Laura is the type of person that if she were already working on 50 different things and you came to her with one more, she wouldn't complain and she would take care of all of it.

"Laura is the glue that holds everything together. She does a great job here and she also volunteers much of her time in the community. She makes us all look good."

Though Owens is generous with his praise, so is McManus.

"My winning this award is all based on teamwork," said McManus. "I could never have won this without the help of the other city employees."