Kelli Speer, the TxDOT Texarkana Maintenance Supervisor, is not only dedicated to her work but has taken her commitment to a personal level. Sporting the TxDOT logo as part of a tattoo sleeve that honors her late mother, Speer's display of loyalty is both skin-deep and heartfelt. The sleeve, which she affectionately refers to as the "momma sleeve," also features a portrait of her mother, Ann, a former employee at the TxDOT Travel Information Center in Texarkana. Speer explained the dual significance of the ink: I got the ‘Flying T’ [TxDOT logo] because she was employed with TxDOT and her leadership always instilled in me my leadership values here as a supervisor,
she shared in an interview highlighted by the Texas Department of Transportation's newsroom.
While Speer has been with TxDOT for three decades, her tenure is outdone by her mother's 31 years at the agency. The dedication was so substantial, that Speer chose to reveal the tattoo to her mother roughly between 2010 and 2012. Recounting the moment, Speer told TxDOT's newsroom, “She was pissed because she didn’t want me to get anything below my elbow,” showcasing the pride and the occasional generational tiffs that come with family and tradition. Despite an update to the official TxDOT logo, which altered the lines forming the top of the T, Speer views her slightly outdated tattoo with a lens of acceptance and humor, remarking, “At one time there were (more) lines, but I’m old now,” Speer said. “Now it just looks like one solid top to the T - but it almost matches.”
But the tattoo speaks to more than just familial ties and professional pride. According to Speer, the real joy in her long-term service lies in the camaraderie and the purpose found within the day-to-day interactions. “Have fun in the job that you’re at, be lighthearted, enjoy each other’s company while you’re at work and just be kind,
Speer advises, as she reflected on her time at TxDOT in her conversation with the TxDot newsroom.
Speer's example might be extreme to some—few people would demonstrate their job satisfaction through body art. Yet, in an era where job-hopping becomes increasingly normative and career loyalty is often fleeting, finding someone who literally wears their work on their sleeve (or arm, in this case) can't help but prompt a deeper reflection on what drives us in our careers and how we choose to express our alliances. There's a blend of nostalgia in Speer's choice, a nod to progression and the passage of time, and maybe, just maybe, a hint that perhaps some lines - once drawn - still manage to connect us to who we are, and where we've been.
