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| Barbara Blanchard |
Working in an office was her goal since her father, an insurance agent, occasionally took her to work with him, where she said, she would pretend to be his colleague. “I never thought about being a firefighter or nurse or anything,” Blanchard said. “For me, I knew I was going to work in an office.”
Blanchard did just that for 25 years, the last 16 years with Northville Township. She retired June 5 for health reasons.
“I always felt every day when I pulled into that parking lot, 'I can't believe I work here','” Blanchard said of her time at Northville Township Hall. “You know, like what a great place to come work every day.”
As finance coordinator, she oversaw the tax preparation, collections and distributions of funds and accounts balancing with Wayne County. She worked closely with the assessor to ensure assessments and taxes were in balance at all times. She also supervised the financial services department where she began her career as a clerk.
While she also assisted in the building department, her job performance was rewarded with regular promotions. She said her work in finance provided her with insights into all the other township departments.
“I am most proud of the level of customer service that the finance department team was committed to each day to each resident,” she said.
Blanchard began her career in 10th grade, when she held a co-op job at First National Bank of Plymouth. She continued there while working on her associate degree in marketing and management at Schoolcraft College. She worked her way up at the bank from filing checks, to working as a teller, then in the Consumer Loan Department and finally the Commercial Loan Department.
She joined Northville Township after the birth of her children, Jack, 31 and Shawna, 22. She also helped raise her stepson, Spencer, 25.
“I remember telling (my first township boss) that I feel like I've been training my whole life for this job,” she said. “All the things that I had learned along the way in the prior years helped me and benefited me to do my job at the township.”
Blanchard plans to slow down in retirement. She said she's been trying out new recipes on her husband, Paul and practicing yoga and meditation, journaling and visiting her family, including two granddaughters, Scarlett, 7, and Alice Kate, 6.
“We wish Barb all the best in her retirement,” said Finance & Budget Director Wendy Hillman. “Her deep knowledge of the township combined with her sunny disposition were such an asset for our community. We thank her so much for her dedicated service.”
