Humboldt clerk: Fountain of knowledge

HUMBOLDT — In his 13 months as Humboldt administrator, Cole Herder has lost track of how many times he’s asked: “Jean, what can you tell me about this?”
Tuesday will be the last day Herder will have at hand the luxury of what he refers to as a walking encyclopedia of Humboldt city business. City Clerk Jean Flores will be honored at a public retirement reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall. Her retirement date is Sept. 1, but with accrued vacation, she will walk away from City Hall at closing time Tuesday afternoon.
Flores, 61, began her career in downtown Humboldt as utility billing clerk in October 1993.
Part-time stints as a typist at home and with the Market Place, a Humboldt weekly newspaper, preceded her public service, which became her only long-term commitment other than raising two daughters.
“I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time,” Flores said, to nurture and raise Sara and Ann, both of whom live in Kansas City suburbs, along with Sara’s 14-year-old son, Anthony. A native of Chanute, Flores moved to Humboldt in 1973 when she married her husband Chris, now retired four years from Monarch Cement.
When the utility clerk’s position came open, Flores said she was ready for a full-time job … and then waited. “I’d walk to City Hall every week to see if the city council had made a decision,” she said. When it did, she was the choice — “I was so excited to get the job.”
Over time she learned the ins and outs of city governance and became the invaluable asset she is today. In 2004, she was appointed interim city clerk when one was needed on the quick. That happened a couple of more times before the town’s governing body realized they had exactly who they needed in Flores — full time, not now and again. “I became official in 2008,” Flores said, in the mild voice that is her manner, and which has served well in dealing with a multitude of residents who have come to City Hall for one thing or another.
During her tenure, no one has been happier to have Flores within earshot than Herder.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have her here to help get me started,” he said. “Truthfully, I would have been lost without her. Even up until today, I’m still learning things from Jean.”
Flores, in Herder’s estimation, also understood that he, as the new kid on the block, had a steep learning curve to negotiate. “She shared things with me gradually so I could absorb them. I’m very grateful for that. We’ll be OK now with her gone, but we definitely with miss her.”
Staci Johnson, who has been training under Flores for a number of weeks, will be intern clerk until assuming the title on Oct. 1.

FLORES HAS no specific plans for retirement, other than being available “to do what we (she and Chris) want to do,” although her daughters may have a say — “They’re talking about trips to Washington, D.C. and Texas.”