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Hunter Ahrens, Mount Penn borough manager, says Paul Janssen taught him the value of teamwork. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\nWhen Paul Janssen retired last year as director of the Center for Excellence in Local Government at Albright College, he left a strong organization that had grown and expanded under his 13 years at its helm, his successor Jeanne Johnston said.<\/p>\n
Janssen died in January at age 69, less than two months after his end-of-November retirement.<\/p>\n
His passing ended a long career devoted to public service and strengthening local government, said Johnston, who collaborated with Janssen while she served as Cumru Township manager.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1994, the center operates as a partnership among academic, public and corporate sectors, offering education, networking and technical assistance for municipal officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cCELG had existed before Paul,\u201d Johnston said, \u201cbut Paul helped expand CELG\u2019s reach and the services that CELG provides, and certainly its profile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting the job<\/p>\n
Janssen arrived at the center with decades of experience in municipal management, and the position proved to be a natural for him, said his widow, Cheryl Janssen.<\/p>\n
She recalled how she spotted a listing for the open position and tipped off her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Paul, I am reading about a job that is everything that your career has been,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the rest, as they say, is history, because his skill set aligned so much with what the position needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the beginning, he focused on strengthening relationships and expanding the center\u2019s reach, she said.<\/p>\n
One of his priorities, she said, was to gain a thorough understanding of the work already done by previous leaders and building on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worked closely with the former director John Kramer and longtime administrative coordinator Andrea Wiest to get to know the people and the relationships that had already been forged,\u201d Cheryl Janssen said.<\/p>\n
Her husband also increased opportunities for collaboration through networking events such as municipal dinners, open houses and golf tournaments designed to bring officials together. Those gatherings became one of his favorite aspects of the job, she noted.<\/p>\n
Impact far reaching<\/p>\n
Hunter Ahrens, Mount Penn borough manager, considers Paul Janssen a mentor. Among the many lessons learned from Janssen, he said, is the value of teamwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul recognized that teams are what bring about change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hunter Ahrens, Mount Penn borough manager, says Paul Janssen taught him the value of teamwork. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Janssen also taught him not to overlook the nuances and complexities of municipal administration, Ahrens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe pushed me to go further in structuring conversations and dealing with issues, whether they be municipal or personnel related,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ahrens said the repercussions of Janssen\u2019s work are and will continue to be far reaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul\u2019s legacy is definitely going to affect those who never knew him and won\u2019t know of his work in laying the foundation,\u201d Ahrens said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be feeling the after affects of his work for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping municipalities<\/p>\n
Under Janssen\u2019s direction, the center increased service as a research and problem-solving hub for municipalities, said Reading City Council President Donna Reed.<\/p>\n
When local officials encountered challenges, from service shortages to budget planning, the center often coordinated studies, surveys and collaborative discussions to help identify solutions, she said.<\/p>\n
At the time of Janssen\u2019s retirement, council issued a proclamation recognizing his work in expanding sponsorships, strengthening intergovernmental cooperation and broadening educational opportunities for municipal leaders throughout Berks County.<\/p>\n
Accepting the recognition, Janssen deflected attention from his own achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of words about things that I have done to try to help government in Berks County,\u201d he said. \u201cBut my message to you today is, \u2018I\u2019ve been so blessed to work with all of you and to be a part of this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Reed remembers her first interaction with Janssen as rocky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was some issue on which we disagreed,\u201d she said, \u201cbut 14 years later I haven\u2019t a clue as to what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through many programs and discussions over the years, she grew to know him on both a professional, and to a lesser degree, personal basis, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really appreciated his knowledge of municipal government and its many complexities as well as his ability to bring folks together to share information and learn from one another,\u201d\u00a0Reed said.<\/p>\n
Career capper<\/p>\n
Born in 1956, in Quantico, Va., Janssen grew up in a military family and later attended Bloomsburg University, Columbia County, where he met his wife of 46 years. Over the course of his career, he served as city manager in several municipalities before taking the leadership role at CELG in 2012.<\/p>\n
In addition to his wife, he is survived by their four children and nine grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Janssen was dedicated to his work, Ahrens said, but never allowed it to take priority over his wife and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a man, that\u2019s the example I want to follow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Cheryl Janssen, her husband\u2019s position at the center was more than simply another job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the most wonderful end-of-career position that he could have had,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just capitalized on all of his knowledge and he just thrived and loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Paul Janssen retired last year as director of the Center for Excellence in Local Government at Albright…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-139501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}