By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Jeannine Bateman said good-bye Tuesday to the office where she worked 37 years and 10 months.

For now, the retired county treasurer said she’s “going to figure out who I am.”

She does say she’ll remain in rural Marion and hopes to spend more time with family.

County treasurers came from far and wide to attend Bateman’s retirement celebration Friday.

One, Sumner County treasurer Danetta Cook, brought Bateman a rose gold cross necklace as a parting gift.

“It’s been an honor to be trusted by Marion County that long,” Bateman said. “It’s been an honor to serve the public and the county employees. There isn’t anything we can’t accomplish if we all get along and work together.”

On Tuesday, Susan Berg took over the treasurer’s duties.

“I’m ready,” Berg said. “I’ve been anticipating this about a year and a half. I know how to do this and I know that I have other treasurers around me.”

Berg has accompanied Bateman to state treasurers’ conference for seven years, so other county treasurers already are familiar to her.

“My goal is to continue the customer service in the caring, compassionate manner it’s been done,” Berg said.

Doing the job isn’t simply about taking the money and writing a receipt. Some customers have to decide what items they can do without in order to pay the real estate tax bill or the new car tag, she said.

Treasurer’s office employees also find themselves helping people navigate through settling their parents’ estates, titling a car, and the like.

“Working in the public is a very humbling experience and I don’t take it lightly,” Berg said.