Carswell sets her sights on retirement

Friday marks the last day you’ll be able to see one of the smiling faces you’ve come to expect in the County Assessor’s Office as Judy Carswell begins her retirement.

She began working in the office in 1997 when Shelley Deromedi hired her.

“She was a wonderful person to work for and made the job easier,” Carswell said. “She had a plan to put Hot Springs County on GIS (Geographical Information System) and thought I would be the one to help her do that.”

Carswell was a mapper for 25 years before coming to the assessor’s office, so she was the logical choice.

“We mapped all of the ownership in Hot Springs County along with several other layers of information with the help from several others throughout the years, and now have it on the county website on the Mapserver,” she said.

“I also worked with Dan Webber since he started years ago, and I knew he would make a great assessor and a great boss and leader. It has been a wonderful place to work.”

Not wanting a big “to-do”, Carswell asked her co-workers to skip a big party, but she welcomes anyone who would like to stop by to say good-bye.

So what does retirement look like?

She plans on spending more time with her grandchildren while they still “think I’m fun to be with.” She’s looking forward to being able to go to their school functions and she plans to do some projects she put aside for “some day.”

“I plan on gardening, crafting and have a little more time for my volunteering and travel more,” she said. “I have a bucket list, and it may take quite a bit of time to see everything I want to see.”