It's not every day that someone decides to embody their workplace pride quite like Kelli Speer, the Texarkana Maintenance Supervisor for the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT. Displaying a unique blend of personal heritage and professional dedication, Speer has inked her allegiance to TxDOT on her skin with the company's logo alongside a tribute to her late mother, a former TxDOT employee, on what she aptly calls her "momma sleeve," as reported by TxDOT.
The significance of this tattoo, Speer reveals, touches on the values of leadership her mother, Ann who spent 31 years at TxDOT, imparted on her; Kelli herself is a stone's throw away from this milestone, rounding up her service at 30 years—and, Speer surprised her mother with the tattoo back between 2010 and 2012, "She was pissed because she didn’t want me to get anything below my elbow," Kelli recounted, showing how the personal intersects with the professional. However, the TxDOT logo has evolved since Kelli first received her tattoo, the lines atop the 'T' now altered, but she maintains that it, “almost matches.”
A commitment like Speer's goes beyond the superficial layer of skin; it dives into the realm of legacy and remembrance, her tattoo a physical manifestation of the memories and principles inherited from her mother. Kelli shares the joy she found in her tenure, from the camaraderie with her coworkers to the satisfaction of helping others, "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 told TxDOT.
