At Auburn Hills, our organization prides itself on its many employees who add value to the community beyond the core elements of their job description.  Take Shawn Keenan for example.  Shawn is our City Planner.  By his job description, Shawn reviews site plans for residential and commercial development, making certain that they meet compliance with our zoning ordinances.  That’s a rather simple description for a more complex job, but we’ll go with that for our purposes in this blog.  But Shawn is also someone who cares a great deal about the environment and protecting and improving things like our waterways.  In our case, that would be the Clinton River which runs through our City.  As part of the promotion and enjoyment of this natural resource, Shawn plans two annual events that promote the river as an important community asset.  These events have taken place back-to-back over the past two weekends.  First it was the annual Paddlepalooza event, whereby kayakers and canoers compete by launching at Riverside Park in downtown Auburn Hills and ending at a specific location in Rochester Hills. Over this past weekend, the City held its annual Fishing Derby.  The river is loaded with trout prior to the event and kids of all ages are invited to participate.  With the assistance of several sponsors, all of which have been obtained by Shawn, this has become an annual family favorite. 

A big THANKS goes out to Shawn Keenan not only for being a good City Planner, but for adding additional value as an employee by helping the city to offer events to our residents beyond the duties and responsibilities of his job description. 

Thomas A. Tanghe, City Manager