Fairfield’s first communications manager to retire, city moves to fill post

Fairfield will look for a new person to help tell the city’s story.

Communications Manager Jenny Dexter, who is the city’s public information officer, will retire on Wednesday and relocate to Fort Myers Beach, Fla., but she will take a new full-time job with the town as its first communications/social media coordinator.

Dexter declined to comment for a story on her departure, but told City Council at its last meeting, “I appreciated working with all of you, and I’m going to miss you.”

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Fairfield City Manager Mark Wendling said officials “hate to lose her,” saying her departure “was a surprise.”

“I think she’s at a point in her life where she’s looking for new adventures and she was able to retire and I think Florida is where she wants to be,” Wendling said. “We wish her well, but I know she’s really excited about it (her move).”

Dexter notified Wendling earlier this month of her intention to retire and move to Florida.

Dexter was hired in 2016 as the city’s first communications manager, overseeing the city’s website, publications, social media accounts and media relations. Before joining the city, Dexter was the community relations director for 15 years for the Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities. She had also worked for ABX Air, Inc. in Wilmington and the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Warren and Clinton Counties in Lebanon.

Wendling said the job posting, which was posted last week, will close at the beginning of April. City staff will review resumes and, after interviews, hope to have a person selected by mid-April. Wendling said it's "a pretty aggressive schedule" because "it's a really important position."

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“We need to get somebody in there as soon as we can,” he said.

The position was created because the city didn’t have anyone on staff to monitor and interact with the media and lead the marketing, promotions and public relations efforts.

“The world of media has changed so much with the role of social media, and it really does require someone keeping an eye on that at all times so we can tell our story,” Wendling said. “One of the things that we recognize that we weren’t getting our story out there enough. We wanted to make sure we’re represented.”

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