Longtime Town of Marion employee Kathy Kearns is being recognized by Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman as she retires after working for the town for nearly 32 years.
According to the press release issued by the town on Tuesday, Kearns worked as an accounts-payable clerk in the town’s Finance Department but could be found working in many Town House departments over the years, helping to fill in as needed.
“Kathy has been a dedicated town employee, always putting the needs of the residents of the town first, jumping in wherever she was needed,” Gorman said. “On behalf of the Town of Marion, the Select Board, and the town’s residents, I want to wish Kathy a happy retirement.”
Kearns started working for the Town of Marion in 1992 and had worked her entire career in the Finance Department. She has seen many changes at Town Hall over her career, particularly the computerization of services. “We didn’t have email when I started,” Kearns recalled.
“Kathy has been a constant presence in Town Hall, despite changes in leadership, policies and technology,” said Gorman. “She has an institutional memory that will be hard to replace.”
Kearns is credited with saving the Marion Town House from possibly burning down in 2000. According to Kearns, she smelled something burning one Friday afternoon shortly before the building was set to close for the weekend. Unable to determine the source and nervous about leaving the building empty, Kearns called the fire department, which found arcing wires hidden behind a wall in a back office.
“The fire department said if we had gone home, the Town House likely would have burned down,” she said.
Kearns, a mother of three and grandmother to five, also coached town baseball and softball teams for many years and served as a field-hockey referee and softball umpire. She said she plans on spending her retirement in her new camper and working in her yard, among other activities.
“I’ll miss everybody here,” said Kearns.