Henley Retires from DREMC with 45 Years of Service
Thursday, August 9, 2018
DREMC has reached the end of an era with the retirement of longtime head cashier Terri Henley. Although Henley will not officially retire until the end of 2018, she left the Sewanee office last month with 45 years of dedicated service and is enjoying her vacation until that time.
Henley grew up in Sewanee and graduated from Franklin County High School. “I graduated in May and started at the DREMC Decherd office in June of that year,” said Henley. “I was working with the National Store in Cowan as a sales clerk for $1 an hour and helping with the books when the wife of former DREMC employee Bill Miller told me about the job opening.”
Henley shared that one of the biggest changes over the years since she began with DREMC in 1973 has been the way bills are processed and mailed to members. She remembers the day when all posting was done on ledgers with balances brought forward and penalties updated manually.
“I am fortunate to have worked with parents and children of those parents throughout the years—Joe Bill Powers and son Don Powers; Floyd Kelley and son David Kelley; and Joyce Posey and daughter Emily Posey,” shared Henley. “It has also been rewarding to be waiting on members who used to accompany their parents to pay their bills when they were just small children.”
“I will miss seeing the members and talking to them. Even with the advances such as bank draft and online payments, some members still want to call, and most of the time I can recognize their voices before they tell me who they are!” said Henley.
Living on the mountain has its weather woes during the winter months. Henley recalls a beautiful ride into work one ice-storm morning on her son’s four-wheeler all decked out in her helmet and warmest winter clothes. “No one at the office knew who I was until I took off my helmet,” laughed Henley.
“Terri spent her last day in the office doing what she does best—taking care of the members,” said Decherd Sewanee District Manager Patrick Hannah. “We appreciate Terri’s years of service and her dedication to DREMC, and we wish her the best moving forward.” Retirement plans for Henley are simple—just take one day at a time.
Emily Posey has been named the new Sewanee MSR, having transferred from the Decherd office. “Emily has spent some time in recent months working in Sewanee and is excited about the opportunity to make it her new home,” commented Hannah.