REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - Rick Degrassi is a devoted city employee in Rehoboth Beach, known for his meticulous work on the city's boardwalk. Degrassi's primary task involves replacing the old wooden panels that make up the boardwalk.Â
Although Degrassi has only worked for the city for four years, he has been involved in carpentry for about 30 years, initially starting in Pennsylvania. Degrassi moved to the area to take care of his mom after his dad passed away five years ago. Sadly, his mother passed away just two years later.
While most towns might assign a team to such a large project, Degrassi told CoastTV he enjoys taking on the boardwalk himself, and that there truly is nothing better than having the beach as his office.
Since many people love the boardwalk, Degrassi says he feels honored to have such an important job.
"It's definitely a great feeling making the people here happy and hearing them say what a good job I do," he said. "It makes you love your job even more."
There are about 12,000 boards on the Rehoboth boardwalk, so this job keeps Degrassi busy year-round. He says he'll work in any weather condition, though sometimes it's difficult to determine the lifespan of each board.
"They're like people; some go early and some last forever," he explained.
Degrassi has many fans, including Ron Bolden, who lives in Rehoboth Beach.
"He does a marvelous job replacing the boards, but in addition to that, he's very friendly and he just makes your day," said Bolden.
Although this is tedious work, Degrassi has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
"God willing, I'd like to do this until I'm 70 years old. I turn 59 this summer, so hopefully another 11 years," said Degrassi.
If there aren't any other projects to tend to, you will most likely find Degrassi on the boardwalk, so if you see him, be sure to say hello.