(From the City of Joplin)One of the region’s top technology leaders has announced his upcoming retirement.
Mark Morris, the City of Joplin’s longtime Director of Information Technology, will retire September 18th after 25 years of service. As the City’s IT director, Morris has spent years developing his expertise in technology – exploring, launching and supporting the systems that enable departments to do their work for the betterment of Joplin’s citizens.
Having led the City through decades of technology advancements, Morris will retire with a long list of accomplishments, including guiding the organization through recovery from a ransomware attack, merging the City’s multiple websites into a single site, and exploring and supporting nearly 60 separate software systems for various departments. Notably, Morris also managed the City’s technology needs through the response and recovery of the 2011 tornado. Just one week before the tornado struck, Morris had transitioned the City from an older, slower system to high-speed fiber internet. It turned out to be a critical element to the organization’s work processes and communications. Additionally, emergency response teams, media outlets and government officials from 42 different agencies were soon spread out in City Hall – all needing data and digital connections.
“I always say there is no such thing as a coincidence – it is merely man’s inability to see God’s plan,” Morris said. “Our new provider cranked our service to the maximum speed, and we had only been their customer for five days. What my career has taught me is that it is all about relationships. It isn’t the next big gadget or version of Windows or ERP. It’s about people.”
Morris first came to the City in 2001 after several years with Contract Freighters, Inc. and TAMKO, where he managed technical support. His first office at the City was in the now-police armory at the former City Hall location. Today, IT is a larger team equipped to support the needs of the City’s 14 departments and 600 employees.
“There is no question his tenure with the City has been fundamental,” says City Manager Nick Edwards, who refers to Morris as the “architect” of the City’s technology systems, crediting him with navigating the organization through a rapid rise of complex technology over the past few decades. Adding to the challenge has been the responsibility of managing the key operating systems for departments like Police, Fire, Finance, and Parks and Recreation – each unique in their needs but dependent on sophisticated systems.
“Mark and his team have delivered high-quality, reliable technology for the organization during the most dramatic technology evolution that any of us have lived through,” said Edwards when sharing Morris’s retirement plans with City employees.
“I also want to express my deepest appreciation for Mark as a person and a leader. He truly cares about his team and does the little things exceptionally well,” Edwards continued. “He is the boss you would want during the hard times. (IT is) a tight-knit group that cares about each other, trusts each other, and supports each other. This doesn’t happen without a great example from the top.”
In retirement, Morris says his priorities will be to care for the acreage he and his late wife purchased near South Joplin, and to support his daughter, a professional aerial gymnast, in her career.
“I think it’s a huge accomplishment that our department has made work something you do, not somewhere you go,” Morris said. “We are light-years away from where we were before. And as a team, we work with everyone and are part of each department’s family. Helping someone achieve something to do their job better is what I will miss the most.”
*The City will soon launch a nationwide search for its next IT Director. For more information, contact the Department of Human Resources at 417-624-0820 ext. 1211.
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