When he started, tax notices were still filled out by hand, telephones had dials and time somehow turned slower. When josef mend looks back on all this, he can hardly believe that it was 50 years ago. Five decades in public service – something that will not be granted to the generations that follow him. And so iphofen’s second mayor, ludwig weigand, pointed out this extraordinary path in the city council. "You’ve had a great career."
Mend has now served as mayor of his hometown of iphofen for 27 years. He had also started his career there. In september 1966, he completed an administrative apprenticeship, which was followed by training as a senior civil servant. He attended a vocational college – a year that did not count towards his professional time. In 1977 he went to the kitzingen administrative district, and in 1990 he returned to iphofen – as mayor.
Mend has been at the "forefront" of the town’s recent development, weigand said, "not by doing the job by the book, but with his heart". Mend had mastered challenges that demanded a great deal even of a tried-and-tested administrative professional. But he was only second line mayor. "First and foremost, you were human," weigand said. In the 27 years he has worked with mend, he has appreciated his openness and even-tempered nature. The 65-year-old will not run for mayor again in the spring of 2020 for reasons of age.