Appraiser says life here is an adventure
Staff writer
For newly hired county appraiser Lisa Reeder, life in Marion is a new adventure.
She worked for almost 23 years in an appraiser’s office in Trego County, where she was born and raised on a farm south of Ogallala.
“This is the first time I’ve lived anywhere but Trego County,” she said. “This is just a fun, new place to go to.
“We were at a point in our lives where we could move, and I was ready for a new adventure. It was time to try something new in a new place in a new area of the state.”
Reeder moved to Marion with her husband, John, and their german shepherd, Jagger. Her two kids, Cole and Macy, recently graduated college. Cole is now in Colorado, and Macy will begin school at Washburn University this fall.
“We’re excited to meet the people,” she said. “It seems like such a friendly area. Everyone we met so far has been wonderful. It’s a new adventure, a new start, something fun.”
Nothing about her new Marion adventure makes her nervous.
“I’ve got a great staff and so that calms my nerves,” she said. “What I don’t know, one of them will.”
Reeder dreams of retiring on a beach in Puerto Rico, but she said she was excited for life in Marion.
As an appraiser, she will value all properties, including residential, commercial and personal property, as well as oil. She also will re-inspect six percent of the county each year and help with mapping.
“There’s a ton of stuff,” she said. “We are always busy.”
County commissioners are planning to have all appraisal work done in house rather than through a consulting company, and Reeder will play a part in making that possible.
“We are working toward that goal together,” she said. “It will take a couple years before that goal is fulfilled. Commissioners were wanting to put everything in one location, and they know I can handle the studies.”