The Itat Quarterly

Q: How long have you been Treasurer?
A:  I have been County Treasurer for 10 1/2 years.

Q: How did you get your start?
A:  Prior to becoming County Treasurer, I worked at Peoples Savings Bank in Montezuma for 21 years and Grinnell State Bank for a year.

Q: What inspired you to pursue the Poweshiek County Treasurer elected position?
A:  Funny Story! Lana Taylor, who was the prior Poweshiek County Treasurer (most of you know that), asked me to help her out during the 2012 presidential caucus. During the caucus, Lana announced that she was going to retire at the end of 2012.  Upon hearing the news, I thought to myself, treasurer… money… I could do that! 

Later that week, I went to see Lana to ask her the NUMEROUS questions that I had and to see how this all worked… with her retiring, could I become an employee and train under her prior to the end of the year?… That type of thing…. Not realizing that’s not how this works😊

Lana and I visited for an hour or so going over many details. Lana then explained to me that I wouldn’t be able to come on board and learn from her and that she didn’t know if the board of supervisors were going to appoint a new treasurer or have a special election.  At that point, I decided to pursue my banking experience at Grinnell State Bank.

I started at Grinnell State Bank in February 2012.  In January 2013 our home phone rang (yes we had home land lines then) and it was the republican party asking me if I would be interested in running for County Treasurer. I told them that I was happy where I was at and that I “was good” with my current job. They asked me to think about it and let them know because there was going to be a special election and they needed a good candidate. I talked it over with my husband and the CEO of Grinnell State Bank and with their support, decided to run for the Treasurer position. It was a 5-week campaign and I truly feel that this was a whole “God thing” of how this all played out and so thankful that I did!  How’s this for an ironic story?

Q: How many team members do you have in your office?
A: I have 8 employees plus myself.

Q: What are some successes that you have had during your time as Treasurer?
A: Through my time as Treasurer, I have been faced with many challenges that I have taken in stride to turn into successes, such as navigating how to run the office during the COVID shut down, closing offices due to health concerns and limiting staff in order to continue to serve the public.

Q: What are some challenges you have faced and how have you overcome those challenges?
A: When I was elected, I had many veteran employees and with each retirement has brought new challenges. Some new hires have brought to the table a new perspective and have shared with me some different ideas for our daily operation which has allowed us to be more efficient.

Q: What solutions or accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: Being able to invest the counties money with the knowledge from my banking background. Also, most counties have all their Treasurer departments all in one location however, mine are all in different areas of our building. I have been blessed to be able to bring my three offices together as a team as we serve the county residents.

Q: What are your future goals for your team and your office?
A: Having each department cross trained well enough so that when future employees join our team it is a smooth transition.

Q: What are you looking forward to most?
A: Looking forward to watching our offices grow as a team and taking on new responsibilities with stride.

Q: What is something about you that most people don't know?
A: I went to college to be a nurse and after one year I decided not to pursue it any longer.

Q: What is something unique to your county?
A: The Poweshiek County Courthouse is the second oldest “operating” courthouse in the State of Iowa.

Q: Any closing comments?
A: I have enjoyed being the County Treasurer for the past 10 ½ years and I appreciate everyone who has accompanied me on my journey.

Sandy K. Ross, Poweshiek County Treasurer