Board of Commissioners Gets New Secretary

Alpena County’s Board of Commissioners recently said a bittersweet goodbye to long–time secretary Laura Ellery–Sommers, but her replacement is enthusiastic about the opportunity to take on the job.

Jamie Siess left her position as legal secretary at the prosecutor’s office after almost seven years for this job at the end of November. The position became available when then–secretary Laura Ellery–Sommers was voted in as Alpena Township treasurer, leaving a void to fill the secretary position.

Siess says during her time at the prosecutor’s office, she was primarily working on felony and juvenile files. So, having the opportunity to work on a wider variety of projects is something she has enjoyed since taking the position at the commissioner’s office.

“I’m loving it. I’m very happy and very pleased and very excited. You know, just with the opportunity and again the variety of business that this office handles. Meeting new people and getting to know different organizations has been pretty exciting,” says the new secretary.

She admits that it was a little intimidating at first to fill the shoes of a widely regarded secretary such as Laura, but with the guidance of the county’s executive manager Tammy Bates, she’s been able to make a pretty smooth transition.