New treasurer sees position as career changing
Staff writer
Lori Pickens always had an affinity for numbers and working with people, so she thought accepting a post as Peabody’s new city treasurer could be her final career move.
“I hope to stay here until I retire,” she said. “I’m hoping this is it. It’s neat working with the city council.”
Of her three children, two are attending college for business, one is already working in banking, and they all offered to answer any of her finance questions, Pickens said.
“They were all like, ‘if you have any questions I’ll be there to help,’ so they were really good with me,” she said.
Peabody’s residents have also encouraged Pickens.
“The community support has been very good,” she said. “A lot of people have come in to congratulate me.
Making the transition to city employment is convenient for increasing community involvement, Pickens said.
“I haven’t been very active in the community, but I was when I was younger,” she said. “Now that my kids are older and I’m older, I think I’ll be stepping back in.”
Pickens said one of her best attributes is a willingness to ask questions.
“I still have a lot to learn,” she said. “I have my notes, but there’s a lot I haven’t learned yet.”
While Pickens is still adjusting to the computer system, she has plenty of experience working with people.
Before coming to the city office, Pickens worked at Peabody Health and Rehab for four years, which she said helped tremendously.
“You have to work closely with residents, and you have a wide variety of residents,” she said.
Current treasurer Liz Harder is leaving the post at the beginning of October because of family matters.