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Dean and Lily Akings share grand marshal duties at Holiday Parade
new deh holiday parade grand marshals pic
Dean and Lily Akings will the Holiday Parade grand marshals.

Santa has his workshop at the North Pole where he tries to make life a little better for everyone who receives his gifts.
 The Dean and Lily Akings workshop has been Great Bend and Barton County where they have spent decades with the same goal in mind – make life a little better for the community.
 “Santa’s Workshop” is the theme of this year’s Home for the Holiday Parade, sponsored by Sunflower Diversified Services as part of its community outreach.
 Dean and Lily will be grand marshals at the annual event, which is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29. The half-mile route starts at 19th and travels along Main Street to 12th.
 Lily was director of the Barton County Health Department from 1979 until July 25 of this year. Dean, who has been Great Bend’s police chief since 1983, will retire on Dec. 31.
 “When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke,” Dean said. “But then I realized Lily was included and I understood the reason for this honor. We are humbled to be chosen by Sunflower Diversified. It is a great agency that provides wonderful services to people with disabilities.”
 Lily and Dean acknowledged that, while they have enjoyed their jobs, less visibility will be nice.
 “We still want to be involved in the community in some capacity,” Lily commented, with Dean noting, “It also will be nice to have a little time to ourselves. I look forward to being responsible only to myself and my family. I have enjoyed being chief but there is a lot of responsibility.”
 Even though Lily is getting used to not being exactly sure what day of the week it is during retirement, she misses her staff.
 “I miss working with people dedicated to public health,” she said. “I miss interacting with folks that show the same passion.”
 Dean will miss the excitement of law enforcement. While the field is “sometimes controversial, it is never boring,” he said. “There is always something going on – problems that you can try to help with. It is good to know you have made a difference.
 “Most of my work is administrative but I was out on a recent drug bust when a suspect ran. Even though I can’t run as fast as I used to,” he laughed, “I caught up with him. There is nothing like catching a bad guy.”
 That comment brought to mind an anecdote. When Dean and a colleague knew they might be in for a long night, they would go to a local drive-up window and say to one another: “Two burgers, two fries, we’re going to catch two bad guys.”
 The one thing Dean is most grateful for is no local officer has been killed in the line of duty during his tenure. “This can happen in any community; we are so fortunate it hasn’t happened here,” he said.
 If Lily could offer one piece of advice to her successor it would be to keep local citizens and officials informed about public health.
 “Everyone needs to keep involved and support the health department,” she said. “The job takes a lot of energy and I have great confidence in its new leadership.
 “Public health is such a broad topic that includes the flu, rabies, vaccinations, nutrition, exercise and other preventive medicine,” she continued. “The department remains committed to leading the community to better health.”
Dean would suggest to the next chief that he or she “use the expertise that already exists in the department. Many officers have a lot of experience and are well trained.
 “And, no matter who you are, someone will throw a shoe at you,” he added. “You need to learn how to duck. Law enforcement sometimes upsets people but you need to take it with a grain of salt.
 “More important,” he added, “officers need to show true compassion because they deal with tragedy. The officers here are the very best in the very worst situations.”
 When Lily started her director’s job, the health department was in the 1400 block of Polk; it is now at Kansas and Lakin. Grant money got the ball rolling and continues to play a big role in financing today.
 Earlier in her career, Lily was an instructor in Barton Community College’s nursing program; helped start the Association for Continuing Education; was a nurse at the former Central Kansas Medical Center; and worked in gerontology at the former Homestead Villa in Hoisington.
 Before becoming chief, Dean was a Great Bend patrol officer and investigator; he also served as assistant city administrator and later as acting city administrator, in the wake of the 1981 flood.
 Their children are Randall, 48, and Melissa, 41, both of Lenexa.
 Sarah Krom, Sunflower Diversified community supports coordinator, said Dean and Lily were selected as grand marshals because of “their years of public service and their efforts in keeping our community vibrant and a wonderful place to call home. We want to honor their dedication to local citizens.”