Alexandria Tompkins, accounting specialist for Miami-Cass REMC, started her career with the cooperative in 2018. In her role, she is responsible for entering accounts payable, miscellaneous receivables, and bank reconciliations; helping with inventory; and filing.
She reports to Stephanie Ziems, director of accounting and finance. She loves working with numbers and enjoys the family atmosphere of working at the co-op. A typical day for her would be entering invoices and receipts.
Tompkins was born and raised in Peru and is a 2006 graduate of Maconaquah High School. After high school, she worked as a pharmacy technician and then at Chrysler.
While working full time and raising a little one, Tompkins went back to school and graduated with a degree in accounting from Indiana Wesleyan University. For a year just prior to joining the REMC, she worked for a doctor as a medical records clerk.
Tompkins has been married to her high school sweetheart, Austin, for 12 years. The couple has an 8-year-old daughter and a child on the way. She is very family-oriented, so Tompkins enjoys spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys working with children and teaches pre-kindergarten at Abundant Life in Peru where the family attends church. Tompkins said that if she hadn’t gone into accounting, she would have enjoyed being an elementary school teacher.
She said people who meet her may be surprised to learn she began riding four-wheelers and dirt bikes at the age of five. When Tompkins was growing up, she loved jellyfish and other sea creatures and wanted to be a marine biologist. Items on her bucket list include visiting Ireland and Switzerland. She and her mom had been doing some planning for a trip when COVID-19 hit.
Throughout her career, she has found that you should never stop educating yourself. There is a lot out there to learn about, explains Tompkins. Her advice to a new hire with the REMC would be to not be too hard on yourself. There is a lot to learn, and the co-op world is a lot different than others.
If she could switch jobs with someone else at the co-op, it would be with one of the customer service representatives. Tompkins sometimes misses member/customer interaction and building relationships with them.
We at Miami-Cass REMC are proud to have Tompkins as part of the co-op family. She is an asset to the team, and we are fortunate to have her.
