After over 36 years of service to the City of Foster City, City Clerk Therese Calic has announced her retirement. Her last day as Foster City’s City Clerk will be June 30, 2009.

Ms. Calic began her career with the City in December 1972 at age 17 when she was hired as a Messenger Clerk for $2 per hour. Over the years she has held jobs in the City Manager’s Office, Public Works Department and City Clerk’s Department, eventually being promoted to City Clerk in July 1990. She has held the position of City Clerk in Foster City for 19 years, longer than any City Clerk in Foster City before her.

“When I started with the City right out of high school, I never expected to retire from Foster City,” exclaimed Ms. Calic. “Foster City has been a wonderful place to work and I have been able to constantly challenge myself with new projects and experiences.”

When Calic started working for the City, it was a new City, having incorporated less than two years earlier. “Foster City and I really grew up and matured together. It is great to see how Foster City has emerged from its turbulent growing years into the prosperous City it is today,” reminisced Ms. Calic.

Calic began working for the City when some well-known names in the Foster City history books were on the City Council. William Walker, Paul Nelson, Mark Reeve, H. James Duffelmeyer and Wayne McFadden made up the Council when she began her career.

City Clerks are responsible for a variety of tasks including maintaining the official records for the City Council and managing municipal elections. When asked about her favorite part of the job, Calic points to the opportunities to mentor others – she enjoys orienting new Councilmembers to public meetings, educating new City Clerks about election procedures and helping City staff and the public to understand Brown Act and other regulatory requirements surrounding the public process.

Ms. Calic is always looking for ways to expand services from the City Clerk’s Department to Foster City residents. In 2003, she expanded the City Clerk’s Department duties to include oversight of City Hall as a Passport Acceptance Office in order to provide additional customer service to the residents of Foster City. Ms. Calic has provided free notary public service for many years.

“We are going to miss Therese at the City Council meetings where she is always there to keep things running smoothly,” said Mayor John Kiramis. “We wish her well in this next new adventure.”

Ms. Calic has plans to keep busy in retirement. In preparation for her retirement, her family has moved to North San Juan, California, where she will join them in July. After taking some time to relax, she hopes to volunteer with local wildlife rescue organizations, join her sister in a bookkeeping business and maintain her notary public license so she can provide free service to local senior citizens.