After almost seven years, Diane Wyman has retired from her post as Newcastle’s deputy town clerk.
Since December 2008, Wyman, of Topsham, has been a mainstay behind the counter in the Newcastle town office, greeting customers with a smile as she processed car registrations and collected taxes.
“The job is all about customer service,” Wyman said. “No one likes having to pay taxes, but it goes a long way to give that check to someone who is pleasant, who smiles and chats with you. I really enjoyed it.”
Wyman joined the Newcastle staff after spending almost 20 years as the business manager for Union 74, the predecessor of AOS 93. It was during her time with the district that Wyman first worked with Newcastle Town Administrator Lynn Maloney. At the time, Maloney was Newcastle’s town clerk.
“(Wyman) came to a lot of our budget meetings or town meetings to explain the school budget,” Maloney said. “I always had such respect for her. She was always so well-organized and had all the answers to our questions right at her fingertips.”
Wyman retired from the school district in May 2008. She had intended to stay retired until she saw an advertisement stating Newcastle was looking for a part-time deputy clerk. Wyman had previously worked in the Damariscotta town office, and thought it would be fun to get back into the town office setting.
“She told me she was considering applying and I said, ‘Please do!'” Maloney said. “Not only was she very organized and good at communicating, but she also had the connection to the town through working with the school for so long.”
Wyman said the transition back into the town office atmosphere was a smooth one. In addition to her duties behind the counter, Wyman served as webmaster for a previous version of the Newcastle website and organized the town elections.
One of the things Wyman will be remembered by the town office staff for, however, is her love of “funky” socks. Wyman and Town Clerk Dawn Burns have been in a daily competition to wear the funkiest socks since Burns joined the staff a little more than two years ago.
“I’ve always worn funky socks and Diane found out,” Burns said.
“One day she came into my office and showed me her socks and said ‘You’re on.'”
The competition inspired Wyman’s going-away gift. Maloney, Burns, Newcastle Deputy Town Clerk Susan Anneley, and Nobleboro Town Clerk Mary Ellen Anderson gave Wyman enough socks to last her a month.
Wyman originally intended to wait until November 2016 to retire, however, a few factors pushed the date up. Earlier this year, Wyman sold her house in Nobleboro and moved to Topsham to be closer to family. Additionally, Anneley joined the town office staff.
“We had assumed that my replacement would need to be trained,” Wyman said. “We were lucky enough to get (Anneley), who had previous municipal experience and only needed a few months to transition in.”
Wyman also intended for her retirement to be permanent, another plan that changed when Burns showed her an advertisement showing Topsham was in search of a clerk.
“It was basically the same thing I was doing here, but without the commute,” Wyman said. “For most of my life, I’ve been a ‘look forward and plan ahead’ person, but this whole set of moves has been flying from the hip. My plan was to retire in a year, but now time will tell.”
Maloney said she had no doubts Wyman would excel in her new position.
“She is just so wonderful,” Maloney said. “She’s always been involved in whatever community she’s in, and I expect her to do the same in Topsham.”
Wyman started at the Topsham town office Thursday, Oct. 29.
