Teri Heilsberg retiring after 28 years with Port

-Debbie Snell photo

Teri Heilsberg with Port commissioners, from left, Dan Boone, John Love and Tom Kammerzell at her retirement party Sept. 15. The Colfax native is set for retirement Sept. 30 after 28 years with the Port.

Teri Heilsberg, an accountant with the Port of Whitman, will retire Sept. 30 after 28 years with the Port.

“Best job ever,” said Heilsberg. “A lot of it's the people. Also, I graduated in business administration at WSU, so I got to do what I graduated in.”

The daughter of Millie Eisinger Heilsberg of Colfax and the late Harold Heilsberg, Teri graduated from Colfax High School in 1975 before attending Washington State University for four years. Upon her graduation from WSU, Heilsberg moved to Portland.

“I was in Portland for about eight years after college,” she said. “I worked at North Pacific Grain Growers as an accountant. And then I came back for personal reasons and looked for a job and fell into this one.”

Heilsberg said one thing that has stood out to her at the Port over the last 28 years has been the longevity of the employees there.

“Joe and Debbie have both been here for 20 years, and Linda for almost as long. Kara Riebold is our newbie,” said Heilsberg. “Everybody that's here usually stayed for a long period of time. It's very cohesive, and it really gets some continuity with the job and the history with the Port district.”

Heilsberg also commented on the longevity of the Port commissioners she has worked with since 1988.

“I've only had about seven commissioners in that length of time,” she commented. “They all served for about 18 or 20 years.”

Current commissioners John Love, Dan Boone and Tom Kammerzell have been in their positions since 1996, 2000 and 2011, respectively.

Heilsberg said she cannot pin down a favorite memory with the Port.

“I don't know if I have a favorite. It's just been interesting to see the changes of the Port over the years,” she said. “It's just been great people to work with. They've all been really good.”

She said she does not have any specific plans for retirement right now.

“I've got a project list I'm going to start working on,” said Heilsberg. “I'm not going anywhere, so I don't have anything on the agenda. I've been here 28 years, and it's time to start working on something else.”

Heilsberg said she will also spend time with her mom and enjoy some leisure time.

She does have one thing planned for sure:

“I plan on spending a lot of time at the Colfax Golf Course,” she commented.

Heilsberg said her retirement is bringing “mixed emotions.”

“I'm excited about it. It's going to be hard. I'll miss coming to work.”