Wytheville town employee takes new job in Florida

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

Moving to Florida and finding a job was something C.T. Eagle Sr. planned to do later in life. A recent turn of events, though, made it sooner than expected for the town of Wytheville employee.
An assistant town engineer, Eagle has been hired as the public works director for Lady Lake, Fla. He begins his new job on March 17.
“My parents live in Rockledge, Fla., which is near Cape Canaveral,” stated Eagle, “and they’re getting on in years. My wife and I planned to move to Florida at some point. She said ‘why not now?’”
Using Google, Eagle searched for jobs within a 100-mile radius of his parents’ residence. He applied for the position, interviewed in January and was hired this month.
“I really wasn’t ready for the move,” the Marion resident remarked. “I am excited about it and petrified. It’s a great opportunity for me.”
According to Eagle, Lady Lake is about the same size of Wytheville. It is located near a large retirement community.
“It’s a newish, growing community,” Eagle noted. “There’s a $100 million development project in the works.”
Lady Lake, he noted, was in the news last February after a tornado heavily damaged the area.
“It was kind of a fluke thing,” Eagle said. “It’s not like it’s in tornado alley.”
Eagle graduated from Wytheville Community College in 1993 with an associate’s degree in civil engineering. He later completed civil engineering courses at Old Dominion University.
Between 1994 and 2003, Eagle was an assistant town engineer for Marion. He was hired by the town of Wytheville in June 2003 and developed the Geographic Information Systems, 911 addressing, mapping and surveying for Wytheville.
Eagle was promoted to assistant town engineer in June 2007. His job included stormwater plan review, erosion and sediment control plan review, budgeting and other duties.
“He has been a very valuable employee,” stated Wytheville Town Manager Wayne Sutherland. “We hate to see him go, but it’s a chance for him to advance.”
Once hired for the Florida post, Eagle spent two days there recently looking for a place to live. He found one in Summerfield, which is just outside Lady Lake.
“It’s a lease-to-buy option,” Eagle commented. “Now, we need to sell our house in Marion. It’s five bedrooms. Anyone interested can give me a call.”
His wife, Michelle, is from the Marion area. She works in guest services for the General Francis Marion Hotel in Marion and previously was administrative assistant to the chief of police at the Marion Police Department.
Eagle is the father of four children. His eldest son, Jacob, is in the U.S. Army, taking basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.; 16-year-old daughter Lauren attends Marion Senior High School; 14-year-old son Christopher Jr. attends Rural Retreat Middle School; and 10-year-old daughter Katelyn attends Marion Intermediate School.
“My wife and I really like Florida,” Eagle stated. “We went down once a year or so on vacations. “I’m looking forward to living there and working there.”
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or .