Published: March 19, 2008 09:17 pm            

Veteran city clerk to retire at end of March

BLUEFIELD — Drema Shireman, one of the behind-the-scenes people who keeps the city of Bluefield running on a day-to-day basis, announced her retirement in early March and plans to end her employment with the city board on March 28. Shireman said she does not intend to leave the area, but hopes to be able to help her daughter with her new grandchild.

“I have really made some great contacts here,” Shireman said of her eight-year term in office. The city clerk’s position, along with the positions of city manager and city solicitor are appointed by the city board of directors. “I’ve worked with some fine people through the years and I will miss a lot of people that I’m working with now. I have mixed emotions (about leaving), but at this point in my life, I felt like I wanted to spend more time with my family.”

Shireman followed Beverly Tresch in the position of clerk. In addition to the daily responsibilities at the city, the clerk is the city’s election officer, maintains the minutes of all city board meetings and serves as the “keeper of the records” of the city.

“I don’t think most people are aware of the responsibilities the city clerk has,” Shireman said. “Beverly (Tresch) helped me a lot when I started in this job, and she kept checking in with me to make sure I was all right. John Feuchtenberger has been my mentor. He has helped me through so many things.”

Feuchtenberger said Shireman’s service to the city has been exceptional. “It will be very difficult to replace Drema,” she said. “She’s so very, very capable. We have been lucky to have her. She has been charming to work with, and she has dealt with every person with compassion and sympathy. It was not unusual to find her in city hall on a Saturday or a holiday doing her work.”

According to Feuchtenberger, Shireman, who also served as the city’s human resources director, was responsible for instituting a city-wide safety program that was instrumental in reducing the city’s Worker’s Compensation premiums. “She studied the law, got all of the safety equipment that the employees needed and conducted safety training sessions,” Feuchtenberger said. “As a result of her efforts, we have the lowest worker’s compensation premiums that we’ve had during my employment with the city.”

Shireman is a native of Oceana, but lived in London, England for a while and has traveled extensively. She was serving with Gov. Gaston Caperton’s Council on Children and Children and had traveled to Russia in that capacity. Shireman was with TurnerVision before joining the city as human resources director.

“Her retirement is a huge loss to the city,” Mayor Linda Whalen said. “She’s very knowledgeable, hard-working and is very instrumental in the day-to-day operations of city hall. She will be missed. It will take some effort to fill her shoes. She fills many roles at the city — as many city employees do — and she does everything well.”

City Manager Mark Henne said that Shireman’s contribution to the operations of the city have been outstanding. “She has done a terrific job,” Henne said. He said that she has faced many challenges during her tenure, and has met each challenge successfully. “I will miss her,” Henne said.

Shireman’s husband, Robert Shireman, is a certified public accountant at Pemco, and Shireman said the family will be staying put. “He loves what he’s doing and has no intentions of leaving his job,” she said. Shireman said she is looking forward to spending time with her grandchild.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

        

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