FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sheila Maerz, City of Springfield Human Resources director, announces her retirement effective Oct. 20. Maerz joined the City of Springfield as the Human Resources director in October 1998 and is responsible for employment, classification, salary administration, payroll, benefits administration, employee relations, training and development, labor relations, safety and workers compensation. Prior to 2013, the Human Resources department was also responsible for the City’s risk management program. Prior to working for the City of Springfield, Maerz served for nine years as the personnel/risk manager for the City of Joplin. She also served in similar capacities for the Joplin Workshops, Teledyne and Motorola, Inc. Maerz considers her work negotiating the City’s first collective bargaining agreement with International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and Springfield Police Officers’ Association/FOP (SPOA) to be among her career’s most rewarding and challenging, and takes pride in her work guiding the City’s self-insured health plan. The financially sound plan is an important benefit for City employees and has remained stable throughout the storm of health care reform. “Sheila’s expertise has been vital to the growth and change within the City of Springfield. Her leadership in moving us toward becoming an employer of choice will leave a lasting legacy in our community as we continue to recruit the best and the brightest,” says City Manager Greg Burris. “We wish her the best and thank her for her service to the City.” Maerz says the environment in which HR has to navigate has changed completely over the past several years, which has made her job both challenging and rewarding. “My successor will be blessed with high-quality Human Resource staff members, amazing outside legal counsel and long-term partnerships with several consultants, vendors and third party administrators (TPAs) that make the job easier and rewarding. I will value these relationships for years to come,” she says. Maerz and her husband Steve have three grown daughters: Samantha, an attorney in St. Louis; Jessica, a first-grade teacher with Springfield Public Schools; and Mary, a junior at Drury University. Burris said the Human Resources director position will be posted on the City’s Web site in August. ### For more information, contact Melissa Haase, Assistant Director of Public Information & Civic Engagement, at 417-864-1003 or [email protected]