You don’t have to be around Caroline Rose for more than a few minutes to know that she’s no shrinking violet. Her physical strength is obvious, but she’s also lively and funny. She’s the life of the party – and she knows it.
That’s why she had to make a change when her 15-year management career with a fast-food chain began to affect her negatively, even when she wasn’t at work.
“I just wasn’t me anymore. I needed a change.”
Last August, Caroline became the second female in town of Farragut history to join the Public Works crew. She now spends her days maintaining roads, sidewalks and other town infrastructure, and mowing and weed eating at parks. The hours are better than her previous job and she likes being outside. Last fall was the first time she really got to see the leaves change and come down, she says.
“It was nice. I felt like a person again.”
Caroline’s connection to the town of Farragut staff is long. She grew up in a family with nine kids in South Knoxville, where she became friends with a little girl named Lauren Beckner. Lauren’s grandmother lived next door to the Rose Family.
Lauren is now Lauren Cox – Farragut’s parks and athletics coordinator – and she and Caroline are life-long friends. In 2014, Lauren recruited Caroline to keep score for rec league softball, and she’s worked on an as-needed basis for the Parks & Rec Department ever since.
Confidence in herself and her abilities has helped Caroline settle in with her department. Growing up with three older brothers helps, she says. But she knew that her coworkers were watching her when she started.
“If I had to pick up a piece of concrete or a heavy limb, they were like, ‘Can she do it?’”
She could. One of Caroline’s claims to fame is that she played for the Derby City Dynamite, part of the Women’s Football Alliance, when it won the Division 3 National Championship in 2021. She received her job offer from the town of Farragut in the locker room during the championship game. She met her wife, Erin Thomas, playing tackle football in Knoxville.
She may be strong, but she admits she’s still in the process of winning over some of her male colleagues. As part of her training, she spent six months on the roads crew before recently moving over to the parks crew. She responds to skepticism with humor.
Her boss, Public Works Director Bud McKelvey, says she’s doing fine with her coworkers.
“Everybody gets along with her. She’s been a good one.”
He knew she would be a hard worker when she told him during her interview that she could quit her gym membership and get paid to work out if she got the job.
Now that spring is here, Caroline is looking forward to watching another season come and go while working at the parks.
“I’ll get to see lots of puppies,” she says. “It will be nice to be outside, nice to see kids playing.”
If you see Caroline, or any other Public Works Department members, in the parks this spring, be sure to thank them for keeping Farragut beautiful.
Town of Farragut marketing and public relations coordinator Wendy Smith is your reliable Farragut insider.