Teresa Williams had been a familiar face at Miami-Cass REMC for 21 years. If you ever visited the office, you likely saw her smiling face. 

Williams began her career with the cooperative on Feb. 1, 2000, and retired exactly 21 years later on Feb. 1 of this year. During her time at the REMC, she worked as a customer service representative taking care of the members’ needs. Williams enjoyed her position and said she will miss talking with the members who would come into the office to pay their bills and spend time chatting. She always appreciated the fact that REMCs are member-owned and are more involved in decisions which affect the members and their community. 

Williams shared that one of the biggest lessons she learned from her time at the co-op is that people are all different, so their priorities, reasoning, and methods of learning are different as well. Therefore, it’s important to treat everyone with that in mind. 

She also shared that one of the biggest changes she saw during her years of service at the REMC was the method by which people pay their bills. At the beginning of her career, all the payments were either mailed in, dropped in a night depository, or paid in the office. Now people can pay on the REMC website, through Pay Now, SmartHub, and prepaid accounts. 

Williams was involved in many projects throughout her career. She is most proud of is being involved in the task of placing all the capital credits information, since the beginning of the REMC in 1939, into a computer system which employees undertook during the last couple of years.  

Williams advised any new employees at Miami-Cass REMC should listen carefully to what members are really saying and to do their best to help them while staying within the cooperative’s guidelines. 

While Williams will miss working with her co-workers and the family environment of the REMC, she has always had a goal of retiring early. She has seen far too many people work late into life and not have an opportunity to enjoy retirement. Her husband, Gary, retired three years ago, and helps their sons farm. The couple had plans to travel after retirement, but have decided to wait until COVID numbers have declined significantly.

The Williamses have a travel trailer and enjoy camping, spending time with    family and farming. She looks forward to being able to do whatever she wants, with no specific schedule. It’s not surprising that Williams wants to spend more time with her family, as former co-worker Karen Chester shared, “Teresa is all about family, whether it is hers, yours or someone else’s. She was always there to help out whenever you needed it.”

Rob Schwartz, Miami-Cass REMC CEO, shared the following about working with Williams. “Teresa was always great at working on special projects. She would put everything she had into ensuring that whatever she was working on was done properly and in a timely fashion.  She was also fun to joke with as she is very quick witted. We as an organization were privileged to have her as an employee, and we wish her well in her retirement.”

Congratulations on your retirement, Teresa! All of us here at Miami-Cass REMC wish you the best as you undertake the next journey in your life.