Louise Sundquist Retires After 40 Years-March 2019
Wed, 04/17/2019 - 9:24am
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By:
Bonnie Kirchman
Louise Sundquist retired this January after serving for 40 years as the Winsor township clerk. A retirement celebration took place between the Winsor annual meeting and regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 12th. At the celebration, Township Supervisor Troy Horn presented Louise with a plaque in appreciation of her years of service.
Forty years ago, Louise was appointed to the clerk position of the Winsor town board as a replacement for the previous clerk who was moving out of state. Louise had always had an interest in bookkeeping so the clerk position was a good fit for her. She stayed on the board for 40 years, maintaining the records, books, and papers required to keep track of township business. During this time, she has seen changes in how the work is done, with increased reliance on computers. In addition, many more reports are now required.
Besides taking notes at all of the township meetings, the clerk handles a great deal of paperwork. Louise spent many hours preparing the reports that need to be filed with the county auditor or state auditor. Year-end reports must be completed and sent in by deadline dates, making the period from January through April extra busy.
“It was quite simple when I started,” Louise says of the bookkeeping she did for the township.
As time went on, more and more of the work was done on the computer. The first computerized accounting system was a fairly simple one. This helped ease the transition from the paper accounting systems the township clerks were accustomed to using. Over time, the programs have become more complicated. Louise sometimes found the computer changes frustrating as she adapted to new programs. Without formal computer training, she often had to teach herself how to do the program, learning as she went along.
Louise found the responsibilities of the township clerk position to be like those of a city clerk as far as the paperwork was concerned. However, the township operated with a smaller budget than most cities. Louise was happy that she didn’t have to deal with some of the duties a city clerk might have, such as city sewer and water concerns.
The decision to retire came when Louise felt it was time for someone else to do the job and bring some new blood to the board. She believes that serving on the board helps new people to know what’s going on in their community. Stephanie McKnight agreed to take over the position as township clerk and that helped make Louise’s decision easier.
After 40 years of service, Louise said she will miss working with the people. She will also miss the meetings where she learned about the many aspects of township business. She found this interesting because things were always changing. But just because Louise has retired from her duties as clerk doesn’t mean she won’t be busy. Louise plans to stay active in the community and she always has things to do!