Glenn Solt's public service has changed the landscape of Whitehall Township and Lehigh County, benefiting generations to come. He served his last day of government service, retiring as Lehigh County director of general services April 4.

Solt, 59, spent his life in government service in both elected and appointed positions.

"I am truly humbled by having the people allow me to serve them," he said reflecting on his career in an interview with The Press last week.

He said it was the cooperation and support received from colleagues, the public and those in leadership roles that speak volumes about what can be accomplished when goals are set.

For Solt, retiring doesn't mean riding into the sunset or resting on a rocking chair. For him, it will be a move to White Stone, Va. There, Solt will captain "Freedom," his 36-foot-long sailboat across the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal Atlantic Ocean.

Solt has been a sailor for 30 years. His passion for sailing has been a respite from the rigors of a public life.

Not seeking praise for his role in public service, Solt was, nonetheless, behind many major projects in Whitehall Township and across Lehigh County. He spearheaded the birth of the Ironton Rail-Trail. The IRT board recently presented him with a plaque and a "thank you" for his work.

Encouraged in 1989 by friends and others to run for office as a Whitehall Township commissioner, Solt was elected to office, beginning in 1990. Six years later, voters put him into the seat as township executive, a position he held via elections until then Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham came calling, appointing Solt as the county's director of general services, a job he has held for eight years.

Solt had ties with the township years before his political career began.

"I was a sophomore at Whitehall High School and in a program, going to class for half a day and spending the second half in a training program with the township public works department," he said. "I got hands-on training in various facets of what public works crews perform for the township."

On graduating, Solt took a job with the township public works department, earning $1.60 an hour.

Later, he owned a construction company, building homes and other related work. He sold the business as his political career took off.

Solt's background in public works and as a private contractor gave him an appreciation for infrastructure. He developed many projects including an ambitious streets improvement program, upgrading equipment and trucks to do the task.

As township executive, he emphasized the repurposing of existing commercial buildings and maintained the township as a mecca for Lehigh Valley shoppers. He also encouraged the many businesses in the township to identify themselves as being in Whitehall, and not Allentown, as many of them had been doing previously.

He lead the charge for the township to build a state-of-the-art public works building on its campus, ensuring the township police and fire departments are the pride of the region, and worked on the aging Mickley Road Bridge. It was his plan for an accelerated funding for and replacement of that bridge when it began to crumble that caught the attention of Lehigh County Executive Donald Cunningham.

Solt's blood was always maroon and gold, demonstrating his community pride with a fall parade, Whitehall Day at the mall, the spurring responsible development and the creation and distribution of Whitehall pins.

At the county, Solt put his brand on small and major projects including Coca-Cola Park and planning for a future upgrade of the Saylor Cement Kilns in Coplay.

Perhaps he will be best remembered for the bridge projects he coordinated, among them the Linden Street Bridge in Allentown, the West Catasauqua-Catasauqua Bridge upgrade, the Hokendauqua-North Catasauqua Bridge now under construction and the pending Coplay-Northampton Bridge. All have Solt's stamp on them. Many other projects in the county had Solt juggling his time behind the desk and in the field.

"Don called me Doctor Bridge," Solt said, chuckling.

Now with his wife, Jody, and two grown daughters, Solt's pace will be a bit slower.

Despite his many accomplishments, he remains humble.

"It's the people, the community, I owe it all to them," he said last week.

After years of public service, picture him sailing off into the sunset of his life.