Karen Kendall on a recent hike, is the Los Alamos County Budget and Performance Manager and she is retiring June 18. She has worked for Los Alamos County for 13 years. Courtesy photo

Karen Kendall

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Karen Kendall has been a Los Alamos County employee for 13 years; the last six years she has worked crunching and calculating numbers as the Budget and Performance Manager.

On June 18, Kendall will retire and officially put her calculator down for good.

“The County has been extremely fortunate to have had Karen in her various roles at the County, but especially as the Budget and Performance Manager,” County Chief Financial Officer Helen Perraglio said. “She has been an incredible leader displayed by her tireless efforts and work performance. She has truly embodied all the traits of a highly motivated, dedicated, and devoted public servant throughout her career, and will be greatly missed.”

Before working in the County Finance Department, Kendall served as the Business Operations Manager for the Department of Public Utilities.

Kendall said she and her husband, Greg, were introduced to Los Alamos when they moved from Minnesota because Kendall was hired by the state of New Mexico for a large financial software project.

“When Greg and I moved (to Los Alamos) in 2004, I came to work at the state in Santa Fe,” she said. “I was familiar with Northern New Mexico because I have family from Tucumcari. During our very first visit, we came up to Los Alamos to see the sights and fell in love with the trails, canyons and hiking opportunities. The commute to Santa Fe was well worth living here in Los Alamos. But, when I saw the job posted for utilities, I thought, ‘Wow, I can walk to this job’ so that’s what got me to first apply to the County.”

Kendall said when she started at the County, she worked out of the old annex building that was located where the Smith’s Marketplace now stands.

When most of the County departments were consolidated into the municipal building, Kendall said she considers that to be one of the biggest changes she experienced during her career.

She said personal highlights during her years in Los Alamos included the improvements to the Canyon Rim Trail and Ashley Pond.

The Finance Department’s response to COVID is another highlight, Kendall said.

“Our team seamlessly kept our duties going during COVID,” she said. “Last year we started working remotely toward the middle of March. We had the budget hearings in April, finished the budget book – it was nice to see that our systems and processes we put in place worked so well. I also enjoyed helping to distribute CARES Act funds to citizens and small businesses.”

She added that working for the County has been a privilege.

“For me … because I work closely with every department in developing and managing the budget, I have been blessed with coworkers becoming family and friends,” Kendall said. “We are a close group of people and that is a great way to end your career.”

“Developing the budget for the County is a collaborative effort and you need to know a little bit about all the County operations and work collaboratively with all the other departments to put the budget together,” she explained. “The job is one that has a lot of tight deadlines and a lot of moving pieces, so you have to be well organized and not let the stress of quick deadlines get to you.”
To the new Budget and Performance Manager, Kendall does offer a piece of advice.

“Main thing for me personally is that throughout my career, no matter what the job, I always tried to have a positive attitude even during difficult times … I also try to have some fun,” she said.

Besides being a longtime County employee, Kendall has played an active role in the community. She was a founding board member for the Los Alamos Co-op Market and served on its board for over 10 years. She also was on the YMCA board and was a member of Kiwanis. Additionally, when her husband worked with Carol A. Clark to help establish the Los Alamos Daily Post Kendall also volunteered.

Kendall may be leaving government work, but she said she and her husband plan to remain in Los Alamos.

“Los Alamos is our home. We plan to visit family in other states and do a lot more camping and hiking. We love to explore new places,” Kendall said.