Boehm finishes duties as Jasper Clerk/Treasurer

Juanita Boehm’s voice caught one time as she recognized her staff standing in the back of the Jasper Council Chambers Monday.

Looking to the back of the room where they stood, she told the crowd that with working alongside these individuals for so many years, one couldn’t help but be a part of their lives. “I will miss them,” she said.

The longtime clerk/treasurer took a few moments to tell those attending the swearing-in ceremony what it had meant to her to serve all of those years as clerk/treasurer.

“This is the fun part of the clerk/treasurer job, the clerk part,” she said beginning the ceremony joking she had done this about a “zillion” times.

She added that it was an important moment for the newly elected officials.

“Every year I get to give it to new councilmember and numerous appointed board members,” Boehm said. “You get to see the thrill of people excited to be on the board or serve as a councilmember. When they take this oath, they take it very seriously. I’ve always enjoyed this part each year.”

“I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of American and the Constitution of the State of Indiana. And that I will faithfully and impartially discharge my duties for the City of Jasper according to the law and the best of my ability so help me God.” Oath of office as read by Boehm to each new office holder.

Boehm is retiring after 24 years at the helm of the financial side of the City of Jasper’s leadership.

She told the packed chamber that she had learned a lot over the years in the position but most importantly, she found out that she didn’t serve alone. “You are just one piece of the puzzle,” she said. “I had a tremendous staff and it has been a real pleasure working with all the other people who work for the city.”

She added that she had mixed emotions about stepping aside but she was glad to hand it over to Allen Siefert, the newly elected clerk/treasurer.

As she swore each member in Boehm added her personal quips to the moment remarking that she should have the oath memorized by now but still felt it was better to read it from a paper. Then as the council and mayor took their assigned seats she chided them to be sure to sit in the correct order.

After she was done, Mayor Vonderheide presented Boehm with a certificate recognizing her 24 years of work for the City of Jasper.

“It is an honor to be here in this room with all of these people,” Boehm said. “I think when I first started doing volunteer work, I was looking for new friends. I had a lot of friends but they seemed to be moving away.”

She said that through volunteering and joining groups like Jasper Jaycees she had made many new friends.

“That stemmed off into more volunteer work and meeting more and more people,” Boehm said. “I was just fortunate to surround myself with a lot of great people.”

She told the crowd that the finance department, her department, didn’t always get recognized for their work. “I thought our greatest accomplishments were when we had clean audit reports,” she said. “That meant we were doing our jobs and very seldom in the State of Indiana do you go that many years with good audit reports.”

Then, Mayor Vonderheide presented her with a Key to the City for her years of service to the community.

“What an honor,” Boehm said in receiving the key. “Thank you very much. I’ll miss it but some of the council members told me I can come to a council meeting and sit in the back and be a remonstrator.”