Public Media for Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Meet Keith Henthorn, Bethel’s New Human Resources Manager

Keith Henthorn started as a local bus driver before taking the position of Human Resources Manager four months ago on November 8.
Christine Trudeau
/
KYUK

 

A relatively new transplant to the City of Bethel, Keith Henthorn started as a local bus driver before taking the position of Human Resources Manager four months ago on November 8. KYUK’s Municipal Reporter Christine Trudeau sat down with Henthorn yesterday to hear about the work ahead, and an upcoming job fair this Thursday at the Bethel Cultural Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

 

Christine Trudeau: You’re taking on the new role as the Human Resources Manager [for the City of Bethel]. Can you talk a little about coming on board for that?

 

Keith Henthorn: I loved driving the bus. That was a great job. I love interacting with the people, getting out, and getting to see parts of Bethel that a lot of people don’t get to see. But I also felt that I had something to contribute in Human Resources. I have a pretty broad background; I’m retired military. I was a squadron commander of my last job; I had 650 people in my squadron. As the commander you’re dealing with all of the day-to-day issues for 650 people, their spouses and their children – kind of over all of it. So I just felt I had a lot to bring to this city from hiring and training and motivating experience, to how to organize and how to take the process and make it better.

 

CT: Some of the things you’ve been tasked with since coming on board here with the city is just finding people to fill positions, right?

 

KH: That’s no doubt one of the major parts of the role, and we have a very high turnover. In fact I looked the other day, and it’s about 50 percent turnover every year. About half the people that we hire a couple of years later or so are not there any longer, and so that always brings a challenge to it. And of course we have the subsistence lifestyle. When its time for moose hunting people want to be able to go out and go moose hunting, and they’re in a situation of they don’t have enough vacation but they want to go moose hunting, they go moose hunting. Unfortunately, under the Bethel Municipal Code if you don’t come to work and you don’t have any vacation, then you don’t have a job. I say sometimes that’s the case – kinda the same with fishing. We do have, this is by far the best benefits package I’ve ever seen that the city offers. We offer 10 hours of paid time off per pay period, 260 hours a year, and that hopefully provides people the opportunity to save up their leave so when it’s slow that come a time for fish season or hunting season, they have vacation paid time off that they can take that and go take care of the needs for their family. That’s what we encourage people to do. The situation is there and some people take advantage of it and some people kind of abuse it.

 

CT: You have a hiring fair coming up this week?

 

KH: We do. It’s actually the state's job fair, but the city will be there. The Fire Department, the Police Department will have a table. I’ll have a table. We have a variety of positions that are open right now. We’re excited.

 

CT: What time and where is that going to be at?

 

KH: That is this Thursday, March 15 from 10:00 [a.m.] to 4:00 [p.m.], and it’ll be at the [Bethel] Cultural Center.

 

CT: Is there anything else that you wanted to add today?

 

KH: I just want to let the employees of the city know that I am here to help them to deal with benefits problems, issues with their supervisors, any issue that’s dealing with the environment that they work with. Part of my job as a human relations manager is to help our employees have an environment that’s free from harassment, free from discrimination, that’s safe, and that provides them the tools and the things that they need to do their job effectively and efficiently and to make sure that we are being a good steward of the taxpayers' money as city employees.

 

CT: Thank you so much.

 

KH: Alright, thank you.

Henthorn says that the city is looking for a mechanic, truck drivers with a commercial driver's license, a wastewater plant operator foreman, and an administrative assist in their public works department.