×

Alpena deputy health officer Judy Greer retires

New Photo by Barbara Woodham Judy Greer sits at her desk at the District Health Department No. 4 offices in Alpena.

ALPENA — When she was hired in 1988 as a secretary for District Health Department No. 4, Judy Greer never dreamed she would be there for a long time.

More than three decades later, Greer, has been an important member of the department and has held multiple positions on the way to serving in her current position as deputy health officer.

Greer retired on Friday after 33 years with the department.

“I never dreamed that I would be here for 33 years,” Greer said.

Greer said she was supposed to retire in 2020. But, in 2019, while she was the department’s administrative services director, department leadership offered her the deputy health officer position, and she decided to stay on for another year.

Her dedication paid off. Greer received the annual Public Health Leadership Excellence Award in 2020 from District Health Department No. 4.

She said her decision to retire had nothing to do with COVID-19. During the pandemic, she said, she put in some long hours, but continued to enjoy her job.

“I would never say that I was overworked,” Greer said. “The Health Department is a great place to work and I would recommend it to anyone.”

Greer graduated from Lake Superior State University in May 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting.

During her time at the Health Department, she served under five different health officers. Greer herself has held seven different positions on her way to becoming deputy health officer.

Greer said she always made time for her community, serving, for example, as a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts.

“When my daughter was young and wanted to become a Girl Scout, there was no troop in the area for her age group, so I started one, me and another parent,” she said.

She was their leader from 2004 to 2013.

Over the years, Greer has served on multiple boards for the Girl Scouts.

Greer was the troop treasurer and merit badge counselor and served in other positions for her son’s troop in the Boy Scouts of America

In her spare time, Greer coached multiple sports teams, including soccer and softball.

She has been very active in the Kiwanis International Club of Alpena since 2014, and she was voted Kiwanis Club Member of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and elected president of the club in 2017 and 2018.

Greer has attended four international conventions with Kiwanis, including ones in Toronto and Paris. She plans to attend more in the future.

She said she also plans to stay active in the community.

“We are going to do some traveling and golfing (in retirement),” Greer said.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today