If you had a police scanner in Camp Verde anytime over the last few years, chances are may have already heard Darby Martin’s voice.
For quite some time she worked as a dispatcher with the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office, where she started in 1996. More recently, she was the administrative assistant to recently retired Town Marshal Dave Smith and today she works as the Town of Camp Verde’s human resources specialist.
For a very brief time, Martin also worked in the CVMO records department.
“It just wasn’t for me,” Martin said. “Records for firefighting, arrest records, I wasn’t excited.”
It’s no wonder.
Working with law enforcement even as a dispatcher means you never know what’s going to happen next, which is something Martin appreciates more than looking at files and paperwork that were the same yesterday that they’ll be tomorrow.
It makes even more sense when you realize that Martin’s old job was to run into burning buildings.
“I loved it,” Martin said.
A one-time stay-at-home mom, Martin said she thought she might like to get into the nursing field. She became certified as a firefighter volunteering at the Montezuma-Rimrock Fire District, and that’s when she discovered she’d much rather be a firefighter than a nurse.
“Dealing with things like dead bodies and fatal accidents, I hated the medical part of it,” Martin said.
Martin stuck to it and eventually became a captain in the fire department, complete with certification for dealing with hazmat emergencies.
Today, from her new office in Camp Verde’s Town Hall, you’d think Martin might not find things as exciting as her old jobs.
That’s not the case at all. Martin said she loves her work, and there’s still the element of never knowing what you’re going to be dealing with.
In a town that employs 62 people, Martin said there is always something that needs attention, whether helping people with their benefits or whatever other issue may arise.
Martin said she already had a bit of a head start on the work from working as Smith’s assistant. For a while, Smith served as the town’s human resources director as well as town marshal.
Not to mention, when Martin’s not busy with human resources, she is in charge of information technology for the town.
It’s a separate job that Martin said had her learning about computers and technology quickly.
Things are a lot different from back in the day when everything was filed away on index cards, Martin said.
Originally from Azuza, Calif., Martin moved to Camp Verde when she was 9 years old. The town has changed a bit since then. Regardless, Camp Verde is still Camp Verde and Camp Verde is definitely home for Martin, who put kids through the local school system and raised a family here.
It’s why she plans to stay.
“The plan is to retire from here,” Martin said. “Maybe then I’ll run for mayor.”
