Jessica Murdock is so much more than her job title.
She is Fernley’s community development program manager, but talking with her reminds me of something I took away from Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”: we see people without seeing the lives that made them who they are.
The novel follows four Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters. Women who might seem unremarkable to a stranger carry extraordinary histories of love, loss, courage and survival. Their stories reveal how little an outside impression can tell us.
We are all like that. We have stories nobody would guess from passing us on the street or reading our business cards. Yet people can be awfully judgey. We see a face, a uniform or a city job title and think we know the person. I catch myself doing it, too.
Jessica has her own stories, her own family and a life beyond City Hall. Even her job has more to it than those few words suggest.
Take her current project, Spooktacular.
It gives children a safe place to trick-or-treat while bringing residents, businesses and community organizations together. Someone has to turn that good idea into actual people showing up, setting up and handing out candy.
That is where Jessica comes in.
I invited her to speak to the Rotary Club of NW Nevada on Oct. 13. She told us about Spooktacular, scheduled for Halloween night, Oct. 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. at City Hall. They were still looking for people to help.
By the end of her visit, she had volunteers for two more tables handing out candy, plus a volunteer and truck for the city’s Trunk-or-Treat area, thanks to Jeff at Freedom Plumbing.
Five or six more people were involved in a city program because Jessica came, explained the need and asked.
Community engagement can sound like something written into a planning document. That evening, it looked like neighbors agreeing to show up for children.
Job done. And a few friendships started along the way.
Why invite Jessica to our Rotary club? Because community development is something we care about, too.
I started this new club in November 2025 to bring more people from Fernley’s growing businesses into Rotary, particularly manufacturing, the trades, construction, fire protection, health care and related fields.
Contractors, landscapers, plumbers, electricians, welders, firefighters, EMTs, health workers, manufacturers and suppliers are among the people literally building Fernley’s future. We wanted to offer them a place to give back while making professional friendships with others doing that work.
Everyone who wants to contribute is welcome. Our newest member, Gay Parker, a retired air traffic controller, was voted in the evening Jessica visited. Our president-elect is Jared Kupcak of Nevada Cement, whom many readers know.
We are Fernley’s second Rotary club, finding our own way to connect people through service.
Jessica fits that spirit beautifully. I asked her to join us in 2025, but she insisted on having a baby instead!
She and her husband now have a beautiful little girl. When we learned that her husband is a Navy veteran, the conversation opened another door. Around our tables were people with military experiences and family connections we might never have discovered from their current occupations.
An Air Force veteran is also a retired police officer. Another member was a Navy rescue swimmer. Others have spouses, parents or children who served. We have Army experience represented, too.
Gay told us about her years working at an airport where large military and Boeing aircraft practiced takeoffs and landings. We shared pieces of our lives until the Wigwam closed.
That is a big part of Rotary: do good in the community and make good friends as you do.
It is also what happens when we take time to look beyond a title. A speaker becomes someone we know. A request for volunteers becomes a shared project. People discover reasons to stay and talk.
So, some of us from the Rotary Club of NW Nevada will be helping at Spooktacular this year.
Community development includes the visible changes around us: housing, infrastructure and planning for growth. It also includes helping people feel connected to the place where they live.
Jessica’s work gives us opportunities to make those connections.
I think about that when I hear criticism directed at people serving our community. As an elected, unpaid swimming pool district trustee, I get some unusual flak when I post about pool repairs. City employees receive plenty themselves.
Questions and disagreements come with public service. Still, we can ask questions, expect answers and remember there is a person on the receiving end. Most people who contact me as a trustee offer appreciation and gratitude. Their kindness helps make the difficult days bearable.
We can also say thank you when someone makes our town a better place to live. Better yet, we can help. Bring the candy. Volunteer the truck. Staff a table. Be the neighbor who adds something good.
Jessica gave our Rotary club that opportunity, and we took it. We had something to contribute, and she made the connection.
At Spooktacular, children will arrive dressed as someone else for an evening. The rest of us might try seeing one another a little more clearly. Who is the person behind the title?
There is a lot of community building in that bag of candy.
Jessica is already doing her part: bringing Fernley together, one invitation, one conversation and one delighted trick-or-treater at a time.
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