Spotlight on Town Staff—Julie Tucei

The Town of Vinton and the Vinton Messenger are partnering to put the spotlight on Town of Vinton employees during the month of their birthdays. The Town is proud to have these individuals on staff and want to make the community aware of who is “behind the scenes” making the town look great and operate so successfully.

Julie Stewart Tucei is the Planning and Zoning Coordinator for the Town of Vinton. She has worked for the town since September 2, 1997, recently celebrating her 25^th anniversary.

She is a graduate of Lord Botetourt High School, earned her Associate degree in Office Systems Technology from Virginia Western Community College and has a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) designation.

Prior to working for the town, Tucei worked as a property management secretary for MKB Realtors and then as secretary and body shop estimator at Valley Cadillac Olds BMW.

She is usually the first face visitors see when they walk in the door of Planning and Zoning and the first voice they hear on the phone. She answers their questions about maps, property, permits, and the GIS system. She also has administrative duties for the town’s website.

She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She and her husband Brian have been married for 20 years and have several “Furkids.” Tucei is passionate about animals (especially horses).

Her hobbies include caring for and trail riding with her horse RC Ramah (age 22), walking and spending time with her dogs Pippin and Lily (ages 13 and 3), and caring for her Senegal parrot, Kazuri (age 18).

She has been collecting Breyer horse and animal models since the mid-1990’s and now has about 1200 models in her collection. Not surprisingly, another hobby is going to flea markets, antique stores, thrift stores, and yard sales looking for Breyer models.

Not only does Tucei serve the Town of Vinton; she serves the entire community by making the public aware of pets available for adoption from the Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection (RCACP) by posting Vinton’s Pets of the Week.

“The members of the Town of Vinton Planning and Zoning Department are some of the unsung heroes of our Town staff,” said Vinton Mayor Brad Grose. “The Planning Department is the first point of contact for many important daily functions such as zoning questions and permits. In addition, the department performs many crucial functions such as grant application and administration, future land use planning, code enforcement and various other duties. We appreciate our valuable employees like Julie Tucei.”