Remembering Catherine McClary

Catherine began her career in public service in 1974, becoming the youngest ever county commissioner for Washtenaw County. After serving as commissioner for 14 years and a career in the private sector, she was elected county treasurer in 1997. For the past 27 years, Catherine contributed not only to innovations and improvements in county government, but also took on role of advocate, champion, teacher, and resource for many within GFOA. Soon after becoming treasurer, she earned recognition as a certified public finance officer (CPFO) and served two terms developing best practices as part of GFOA’s Treasury and Investment Management (TIM) committee.  She also was very active in the Michigan GFOA serving on and leading numerous committees to support professional development, legislation, and advocacy.  She co-founded the Michigan Women in Public Finance. She also served on GFOA’s executive board from YEAR to YEAR.

More recently, Catherine became a leader in driving innovation. Washtenaw County won GFOA’s award for excellence for their work with robotic process automation and Catherine used the experience to become a resource for others speaking at conferences, including the GFOA annual conference. Catherine was a resource for many and a constant at GFOA. A member for over 27 years and an attendee at just about every annual conference over that period, Catherine no doubt touched many with her passion for public finance, technical expertise, and intellectual curiosity. She was recognized in 2021 as one of GFOA’s Hero Award recipients and recently spotlighted to promote the CPFO program. Catherine planned to retire at the end of this year, but still planned to continue serving her current role on GFOA’s TIM committee and attend yet another GFOA conference this summer. She will be truly missed and our thoughts are with she family, friends, co-workers, and others she had the opportunity to impact.