Longtime city of Ceres employees Cheryl Carpenter and Farren Williams were honored last week by the Ceres City Council as they enter retirement.

Carpenter has been a support services at the Ceres Police Department.

Farren Williams has been the city's Information and Technology manager for 24 years.

Mayor Chris Vierra presented both with a plaque.

Carpenter has spent 37 years as the Support Services supervisor.

"When you look at 37 years, that's quite an accomplishment," the mayor told Carpenter. "We definitely want to, on behalf of myself and the rest of the council, thank you for that. It's a rarity that someone stays in the same position with the same organization for 37 years so you should be commended for that."

Williams was hired 24 years ago by the late Police Chief Pete Peterson to build an IT department for the Ceres Police. It eventually became the IT Department for the entire city operation, with Williams as the manager overseeing three IT specialists. The IT Department has always been housed at the Police Department Building and they are as much a part of the Police Department as any other employee.

Before he was hired by the city, Williams had been a sports and government reporter for the Ceres Courier.