When City Clerk/Treasurer Jan Gillespie retired last week after two-and-a-half years, she was glad to pass her duties to newly hired Kimberly Howe.
‘Kimberly will be a great contribution to the City of Clarkston. She’s got great expertise in all the accounting and Word Perfect applications that will be used with her job,? Gillespie said. ‘I’m very excited to leave my position as Clerk/Treasurer in her capable hands.?
Howe, a Springfield Township resident said she is looking forward to the financial part as treasurer.
‘I have a BBA in Accounting,? she said. ‘Unfortunately not as much experience in the clerk part of it. Hopefully, I’m a quick study.?
Howe graduated and got her degree from Eastern Michigan University and says she’s old enough to be a ‘Huron? instead of an ‘Eagle.?
She also works as an accountant at Eton Academy in Birmingham and does bookkeeping for a landscaper.
Outside of work she keeps very active with her husband Chris Howe and children Roman, 14, and Anthony, 12, Reiner, and Emily Howe, 4.
‘I am kept very busy in my non-work life as a hockey mom, football mom, baseball mom, a basketball mom and a dance mom,? she said. ‘You can tell the one who does dance.?
She wanted Emily to be a hockey player because her last name is ‘Howe,? but she said she is too much of a ‘girly girl.?
‘I played hockey until I was 43-years-old, I was not very good, nothing compared to my sons, but I did play,? she said. ‘I am probably one of the few moms in town who actually has a wrist shot.?
Howe loves the Detroit Red Wings and her current favorite player is Pavel Datsyuk who she described as a ‘very good sportsman on and off the ice, and a wonderful role model.?
As far as learning the ropes of her new job, Kimberly described Gillespie as an ‘incredible asset to the city.?
‘Everything she’s done as a clerk and treasurer has been wonderful (and) some of the things she’s put in place as the treasurer are just unbelievable,? Howe said. ‘I don’t think anyone would understand it until they’ve delved into it like I have and seen how much she’s really done. She will really be missed but I have her cell phone number and she’s promised to come back and help with the next election.?