Kimberly Smelser has been first deputy in the McIntosh County Treasurer’s Office since January 2021.
On Tuesday, July 1, she will become county treasurer, replacing Betty Whisenhunt, whose final day in office will be June 30.
Smelser is a familiar face at the courthouse, where she has worked for about 16 years, beginning in the county clerk’s office in 2009 as a purchasing agent and becoming first deputy in that office in 2012.
In April 2018 she moved to the treasurer’s office.
Kim came to Eufaula from Illinois in 1984 when her parents, Wayne and Brenda Runyon, moved here to manage Ken’s Pizza.
“They had several restaurants here in town,” she said.
She graduated from Eufaula High School in 1987 and worked for several businesses before landing at the courthouse.
She worked for CPA Bob Sunday, where she learned a lot about accounting; also Margaret Giley’s Butterfly Co. and the Eufaula School District as child nutrition director.
Other than working for a CPA and taking a couple of accounting courses, Kim has learned most of her skills on the job.
“I love numbers,” she said. “Numbers are just my thing.”
Kim has learned a lot from Whisenhunt.
“Betty knows her job and so I feel blessed that we all got to learn from her. She’s wonderful,” Kim said.
No changes are planned in the office.
“We’ve got the best group of workers ever,” she said. “They’re very efficient.”
But, times change and she recognizes they have to keep up with advancements in technology.
“As far as the total operation goes, we have the best there is. We are very well structured.”
Kim and her husband Kelly have been married 25 years. Between the two of them, they have five children.
