Vicki Everage was honored with a retirement reception Thursday afternoon at the Pike-Bullock Farm Service Agency office in Troy.

Everage, key program technician, will officially retire on Monday after 34 years of service to the Farm Service Agency.

David McCurdy congratulated Everage on her retirement and wished her all the best in the coming years.

McCurdy said Everage has been an exemplary employee for 34 years and, although she will be greatly missed, she is deserving of this time in her life.

He presented her with a certificate of appreciation for her long and dedicated service to the farming communities in Pike and Bullock counties.

Carol Nicholson, county executive director, expressed appreciation to Everage for her long and dedicated service.

“I could always depend on Vicki,” Nicholson said. “She knew what had to be done and she did it and she did it right. She will be missed by all of us. She was a real asset to the Pike Bullock FSA. We all wish her the very best.”

Everage is a native of Crenshaw County and worked at the ASCA office in Luverne prior to coming to the FSA office in Troy.

“Although I didn’t grow up on a farm, there was farmland all around and I learned to love and appreciate the land and the people who farmed it,” Everage said. “When the positon with the FSA came open, I applied because it seemed to be the right job for me.”

Everage said dealing with the rules and regulations of the job could be rather taxing, but she always found great pleasure in working with the producers.

“I enjoy people and working with the farmers and getting to know them was a very enjoyable part of my job,” Everage said. “I have great appreciation for our producers and the work they do. It has been a pleasure to work with them and serve the farming community.”

Everage said working for the FSA has provided her with many opportunities, including fieldwork, from flying over the croplands of Pike and Bullock counties to actually climbing grain bins with a measuring device in tow.

Doing field work was interesting and often exciting and a welcomed diversion from office work, Everage said.

She expressed appreciation to those she has worked with over the years.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to work for the FSA. It has been the right place for me,” she said.

Everage said she is looking forward to joining forces with her husband, Anthony Everage, who retired as Troy Police Chief about six years ago.

“I’m looking forward making my own schedule and not having anything that I really have to do,” she said. “At least, from time to time.”

About a year ago, Everage began baking and decorating cookies and baking is a hobby she really enjoys. Although she bakes mainly for family and friends, there’s a window of opportunity there that she just might pursue.

“I love nature and I plan to do more exercising,” Everage said. “Anthony and I like to bike. We have street bikes and mountain bikes so we’ll do more biking. I love all of God’s creations. I love the mountains and the beach, just everything He has made for us to enjoy.”

Everage is also looking forward to having more time to spend with family, son, Jonathan and his wife, Grace, and daughter Bonnie and her husband Clay Helms.

She did admit that adjusting from a structured work day to a day of leisure might take some getting used to but she is ready to give it a try.