After nearly 30 years of working with the Township of Wellesley, treasurer Theresa Bisch is officially retiring. The big day doesn’t officially arrive until Sunday, but tomorrow (February 26) is her last day in the office.
There have been numerous changes at the municipality over the past three decades, but looking back over her career, Bisch says she already knows what she will miss the most.
“I’m going to miss the staff, absolutely, and I’m going to miss the interaction at the front counter with the taxpayers. Those two things are the parts that I’ll miss the most. I really enjoyed talking to the people as they came in the door, because you never knew what problem they were coming in with. I loved giving them a hand,” said Bisch. “The Township of Wellesley’s staff and council work as a team. In other words, working towards a common goal, and that has been a real treat to be in the middle of that teamwork. The Township of Wellesley has been a really nice place to work.”
Bisch came to the township from the private sector, having opted to work and go to school at the same time after graduating high school. Her studies were done on a part-time basis while working her job and taking care of her family.
When her fourth child came around, she decided to spend more time at home. Eventually she would decide to head back into the workforce, a move that would then lead her to the township.
Bisch has been the treasurer since 2013, taking over when the last treasurer left. She officially started working for the township in 1994 as an administrative assistant. Originally, she was working an income tax job during the spring and in the off-season she accepted a part-time position with Wellesley. She would stay in this job until 2002, when after a review, it was suggested she become a tax collector. It was then she would also take on the mantle of deputy treasurer. She held that job until she took over as treasurer.
Bisch and her husband Ron moved into their home in Wellesley Township in 1981, where the couple raised four children, and now have five grandchildren, all of whom she is ready to spend more time with once it is safe now that she will have more time on her hands.
“[It would] be different if it wasn’t COVID, but I’m looking forward to having time to spend where I can actually go and visit my four children and their families – our family is all spread out, so I’d love to go see them more,” she said. “We’re not big travellers. When we have been travelling, it’s been for specific purposes such as going to weddings, but we’re just not those people. I think even if COVID wasn’t here we just want to have more time spent with our with our grandchildren and our children.”
In addition to spending time with her family post-retirement day, Bisch and her husband are both volunteers with the Apple Butter and Cheese Festival, and she is a member of the Catholic Women’s League at her church.
In her final days working for the township in which she has lived for almost 40 years, she’s looking back and appreciating how she got to this day.
“I can say that Wellesley Township is a fabulous place to live, no doubt about that. As I moved over here from Stratford, this has become home. But I think as far as my career, you need to just be open and flexible, and as opportunities arise jump on them, even if you don’t feel like you’re qualified. Take the time to learn everything you can, so you can do the best job possible.”
