XENIA — Ohio’s newest county engineer has a message for little girls and boys growing up like she did — playing with Tonka trucks.
On what Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer called a ‘historic day’, Greene County Engineer Stephanie Goff took the oath of office Aug. 2 in the county engineer’s office.
“Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do something. I’ve had people along the way tell me ‘you can’t be an engineer, you’re never gonna make it’,” Goff said. “You put your mind to it, you build a support system — I see my support system here. You trust and believe in yourself and with that you can conquer anything.”
Goff said she’s wanted to become an engineer since she was a child.
“I had my Tonka trucks. I had Barbies but I didn’t use them in the traditional method — they actually fit in my Tonka trucks,” she recalled. “I loved building bridges and roads and I knew this is the passion and the path that I wanted to take.”
Immediately after Goff took office, she was faced with a natural disaster and its resulting clean-up.
“I so want to thank my staff and crew I’ve been working with since the beginning of May. You guys rolled right with it when we had the tornado right to start off with,” she said. “You’re a great staff and a great crew. You guys just do your job and you do it excellent.”
At the ceremony, Goff thanked her friends and family — including her late grandfather who was an engineer at the base. She also thanked her mentors over the years, including former Logan County Engineer Jim Cox, who held the Bible as she recited the oath.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without you so I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “You’ve been my sounding board, you’ve taught me the basics from the beginning.”
Goff talked about how Cox taught her her how to do things from the ground up — working on the road crew, survey crew, bridge crew, and even drawing planes by hand before using the automated system already in place.
Goff told about how the two of them also went out and did her first survey together, and Cox remembered the times she also had to “go out with the guys” to plow snow.
“I know what it takes to become an engineer,” Cox said. “She’s an engineer, the third female engineer in the state. I am very proud of that. We need more ladies coming into the profession.”
As Goff continues her dream job, now officially sworn in as county engineer, she has a promise for Greene County residents.
“I promise to continue to provide them great roads and bridges and continue to move us forward,” she said.
