Terri Murdock loves her job as city administrator for the City of Italy, “I love the city, I love the old downtown area, there are some beautiful old houses here. All of the people that I have met have been extremely nice, warm and welcoming and that is great, really great.”

Murdock became the City Administrator for the City of Italy on October 23rd, 2008. But she is no stranger to how small towns operate. She was the city secretary for the City of Kemp for five years and held a lot of the same responsibilities she now holds as City Administrator.

Terri is married to Luke Murdock (retired from the city of Richardson) and has four children, Josh Dickerson, Bryan Dickerson, Shane Dickerson and Corinda Sawyer. She also has four wonderful grandchildren.

Terri and Luke reside in Gun Barrell City and have a beautiful home by Cedar Creek Lake. When asked how she handles the long drive she said,“I love the commute, it is a beautiful drive. When I am headed to work I have time to think about the day ahead and on the way home I have time to process everything that happened that day.”

When Terri is not here in our little town, she can be found sitting on her back porch watching the sun set over the lake. She also loves to fish and play with her grandchildren.

When asked what her favorite part of her job is, Terri replied," Interacting with the community. I love that. Some times in small towns it is not easy to be accepted but here everybody just wants you to be a part. When I started working for the city I made it my home. I may not live here, but this is my home. I have a great, great working family. All of the people I work with are wonderful, I think we have an excellent group of people." She went on to say, “When I take a job I own it. I want to take care of it like I take care of anything else. This is my city, my town, my home. I want to do the best for the people that are here. That is who I work for, I work for the people. In a city it is real important to have that kind of connection even though I don’t live here. I have been to several of the functions, the opening at Hobbs Feed and Grain, the Christmas Parade, and I will be at the Mayor’s Easter Egg Hunt. If there is going to be something going on – I am here. Because that is where my heart is right now. I think it will stay that way for a very long time, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I would love to retire from the City of Italy.”