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Donna Wickersham, a 12-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures and 21 years of service to the state of Arizona, retired from her position as The accounting expert, personnel manager and “goddess of grammar” who devoted 12 years of her career to the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, has retired from her position of administrator for Business Services and Human Resources.

Ms. Wickersham oversaw the Department’s budgeting, hiring and fiscal operations, and advised four separate Directors on confidential matters.

“Donna will be sorely missed,” said Acting Director Seth Mones. “She has been a tremendous asset to the Department and to our staff. We thank her for her service and her constant kindness, and we wish her the best.”

Mrs. Wickersham and her husband, Jim, a retired teacher, will be moving back to Illinois to be closer to their children and grandchildren. “We’re excited about a big change in our lives, but I’ll be sad to leave so many friends here,” Mrs. Wickersham said.

She began her state career as a secretary in the Arizona Department of Revenue, but quickly demonstrated the skills, compassion and problem-solving abilities that earned her repeated promotions until she became the chief fiscal and personnel officer for Weights and Measures.

“We called her the `Goddess of Grammar’ because of her desire to ensure a professional image – not just for the Department, but for state service as well,” said Sandy Williams, the former Weights and Measures Director who first hired her as a full-time state employee – and later recruited her to join Weights and Measures.

They first worked together at the Arizona Department of Revenue, where Mrs. Wickersham was hired as a temporary employee “Donna proved herself invaluable to the success of automating our accounting system,” Mrs. Williams recalled. “I can’t say enough about Donna, except that I will forever be grateful for her abilities, her ethics and her friendship.”

George Seitts, another former Weights and Measures Director who currently is President of the Arizona Food Marketers Alliance, described Ms. Wickersham as “a straightforward and highly ethical person.”

“Donna and I got along for many reasons - love of family, love of Arizona, and our daily task of seeing that the numbers added up and that our personnel, which is a very solid crew, were treated fairly and with respect,” said Mr. Seitts.