FARMINGTON—It’s been more than 32 years since Mark Langston came onboard with the county as Information Systems Director. Now 14 different commissioners later, he’s ready to retire and take that next step into the second chapter of his life.

“It’s been a great job for me,” said Langston. “I’ve loved working for Davis County. It’s taught me a lot of things. It’s been good to rub elbows with people who have integrity.”

Langston graduated from Utah State University in 1985 with a degree in Information Systems and became the second licensed Network Engineer in the state. He started with the Davis Area Vocational Center (now the Davis School District) then went to work for the state and then was hired as director for Davis County.

Over the years, Langston has seen a lot of change in his job. “We were using a lot of typewriters. Those are all gone now, there are computers now.”

At one point, there were more than 200 applications he was working on, Langston said. “Things like land tax, emissions, payroll, software, etc. I served all the departments and helped them get automated to make them more efficient like document handling and computer aided dispatch.”

Langston said they launched some applications that worked and some that failed. “We tried to develop a retina scan for the Sheriff’s Office but it got benched. I helped with network growth, got the internet for the libraries and animal control for adoptions online.”

During the 2002 Olympics, Langston said he worked with the commissioners to bring a rodeo to the county. “It started as kind of a joke,” he said. “A rodeo in the Winter Olympics? I was interested because I grew up riding horses and my wife did some riding in rodeos. It was out of my realm but it was fun to do and I helped pull it off. It was a sideline event between Canada and the U.S.”

It’s been great seeing people excel in the department, said Langston. “To watch them grow and develop and be successful.”

“I’ve known Mark outside of his job,” said Commissioner Lorene Kamalu. “Our daughters played volleyball together and in college too. The great thing is he’s the same outside of work as he is inside. He has integrity, honesty and ethics and he has motivated many. I know for sure his team respects him. It’s a great culture in the Information Systems Department. He’s done a really critical job for the county.”

Langston said the thing he’ll miss the most is the people he works with. “The decisions they’ve had to make on taxes, etc. weren’t always popular but they did it fairly and equitably. It’s been an honor to be part of that. I’ve taken this horse for as long as I can. It’s been a great ride.”