Trade publication honors Malverne DPW head Paul Jessup

If you live in Malverne, you know Paul Jessup. He has lived in the village since 1957, spending some 30 years as a member of the volunteer Fire Department and the last 14 as the superintendent of the Department of Public Works.

Whether he’s out getting his hands dirty on the job or delivering his joke-riddled monthly reports to Mayor Patricia McDonald and the Board of Trustees, it seems that Jessup, 57, is always around — and prepared to deliver a quip or a compliment. Socializing with residents, he says, is a significant part of what makes his job great.

In fact, his rapport with his workers, residents and village trustees — as well as his achievements as the DPW superintendent — recently earned him the recognition of his peers: Jessup was featured in the September issue of New York State Superintendent’s Profile Magazine, a monthly whose readership includes highway superintendents, public works directors and other industry officials. In an eight-page spread, Editor-in-Chief Craig Mongeau wrote a flattering, if accurate, profile of the village’s lovable superintendent.

“I’ve been doing this for a while and, so, every superintendent or public works commissioner has something unique … most of the time,” Mongeau recently told the Herald. “With Paul, though … what really struck me was how personable he was and how he knew virtually everyone in the village, and I thought that was great.”

Although pleased to be acknowledged, Jessup was somewhat uncomfortable with his 15 minutes of fame. “Why are you doing this to me?” he asked when the Herald spoke with him about the Profile article. He made similar comments to those who delivered a lighthearted ribbing about his magazine debut at the board’s October meeting — including one resident who asked whether there was a centerfold spread.

“But in all seriousness, I was flattered,” Jessup said. “I didn’t know why, you know, little Malverne, but it is what it is, and I just felt that people should know it’s not just me, it’s an entire department and a village. I don’t have a big ego, as you can tell.”