Knipsel Leaving Auditor's Office After 18 Years
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
She knows her last day will be full of tears, still she is also looking forward to retiring after approximately 18 years of public service.
Charlene Knispel, 69, Kosciusko County auditor, is retiring at the end of this year. She will be replaced by Sue Ann Mitchell, the former county assessor.
Knispel said, "I'll miss my girls. They are a marvelous staff. There's not enough words to describe (their good work)."
One way to tell if an elected official did a good job is if they leave a position better than they found it. Charlene said she doesn't mean to degrade any previous auditor's work, but she feels she has done just that.
"This office could run without an elected official," she said. "That's how confident I am in my staff."
Knispel was born in St. Louis, Mo. She has four grown children and 11 grandchildren.
She moved to Fort Wayne from Missouri in 1945. She then went back to school in St. Louis and then at Indiana University.
She married Lorin Knispel, and they raised their children in Fort Wayne. Lorin died in 1986.
Besides working in the Fort Wayne Bureau of Motor Vehicles in 1969 and '70, Knispel performed many hours of volunteer work for the Republican party.
In 1971, she and her family moved from Fort Wayne to Syracuse.
"(The move) was great for the kids," Charlene said. "It was marvelous for them."
She started working for the BMV in Goshen. At that same time, Syracuse had just gotten a full-time township assessor.
"I had met (Harry VanHemert) at the BMV and he said, 'You've got to come work for me,'" Charlene said.
That was her start in government. And at that time, she said, the Republican party was just like one big happy family.
She said the county party was well-organized and operated under the "iron thumb" of Ed Pratt and Jean Northenor. She said the party got a lot of work accomplished.
"I'm really hoping the younger generation will get a lot done," she said. She also would like them to have a feeling of family and unity within the party, she said. "One thing I always try to make them understand - choose a philosophy first and then work with that philosophy to make changes."
Kosciusko County Commissioner Avis Gunter said she has known Knispel since Knispel worked in the Turkey Creek Township Assessor's office under VanHemert. "She's been a very good friend," Gunter said.
In 1982, Knispel was elected township assessor. She ran for county auditor, and won, in 1994, taking office in 1996.
Being county auditor, Knispel said, has given her an opportunity to see how government operates. Before, she just had to explain her office's budget and hoped it was approved. She said she has seen real dedication on behalf of the county commissioners and council to making Kosciusko County government work effectively and frugally.
"I appreciate their efforts more than I ever had before," she said.
Knispel's replacement, Mitchell, also is a friend.
"Sue Ann and I have been friends for a long time," Knispel said. "We were township trustees together." They've traveled together, taught together and when both of them decided to step up in the county ranks, they did that together, too. Knispel became auditor, Mitchell became county assessor.
After retiring, Knispel said, she has lots of plans. She wants to volunteer at the Goshen Hospital. She wants to spend time with her children.
"It's going to be fun to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it," she said. "I love my home. I love my Syracuse town and there's so much I want to do.
"I've given a good part of my life to county government and politics. The politics will probably continue," she said. "I enjoy that too much. I wouldn't want to give that up."
Knispel also serves as a precinct committee member and secretary of the county's Republican Central Committee. She said she has met senators and representatives and has worked for them and will again, if they ask.
Mike Miner, Republican party county chairman, said, "I think Charlene has been a strong supporter of not simply the (Republican) party but also the county government for as long as I've known her."
He said that while she will no longer be a public officeholder, "I'm hoping she'll be active in the party for a long time. I made sure of that when I talked to her!"
Charlene said it is often fun to look back and, in looking back, she has her children and career to make her proud.
"If I had to say anything, I would say I had a good life," she said. [[In-content Ad]]
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She knows her last day will be full of tears, still she is also looking forward to retiring after approximately 18 years of public service.
Charlene Knispel, 69, Kosciusko County auditor, is retiring at the end of this year. She will be replaced by Sue Ann Mitchell, the former county assessor.
Knispel said, "I'll miss my girls. They are a marvelous staff. There's not enough words to describe (their good work)."
One way to tell if an elected official did a good job is if they leave a position better than they found it. Charlene said she doesn't mean to degrade any previous auditor's work, but she feels she has done just that.
"This office could run without an elected official," she said. "That's how confident I am in my staff."
Knispel was born in St. Louis, Mo. She has four grown children and 11 grandchildren.
She moved to Fort Wayne from Missouri in 1945. She then went back to school in St. Louis and then at Indiana University.
She married Lorin Knispel, and they raised their children in Fort Wayne. Lorin died in 1986.
Besides working in the Fort Wayne Bureau of Motor Vehicles in 1969 and '70, Knispel performed many hours of volunteer work for the Republican party.
In 1971, she and her family moved from Fort Wayne to Syracuse.
"(The move) was great for the kids," Charlene said. "It was marvelous for them."
She started working for the BMV in Goshen. At that same time, Syracuse had just gotten a full-time township assessor.
"I had met (Harry VanHemert) at the BMV and he said, 'You've got to come work for me,'" Charlene said.
That was her start in government. And at that time, she said, the Republican party was just like one big happy family.
She said the county party was well-organized and operated under the "iron thumb" of Ed Pratt and Jean Northenor. She said the party got a lot of work accomplished.
"I'm really hoping the younger generation will get a lot done," she said. She also would like them to have a feeling of family and unity within the party, she said. "One thing I always try to make them understand - choose a philosophy first and then work with that philosophy to make changes."
Kosciusko County Commissioner Avis Gunter said she has known Knispel since Knispel worked in the Turkey Creek Township Assessor's office under VanHemert. "She's been a very good friend," Gunter said.
In 1982, Knispel was elected township assessor. She ran for county auditor, and won, in 1994, taking office in 1996.
Being county auditor, Knispel said, has given her an opportunity to see how government operates. Before, she just had to explain her office's budget and hoped it was approved. She said she has seen real dedication on behalf of the county commissioners and council to making Kosciusko County government work effectively and frugally.
"I appreciate their efforts more than I ever had before," she said.
Knispel's replacement, Mitchell, also is a friend.
"Sue Ann and I have been friends for a long time," Knispel said. "We were township trustees together." They've traveled together, taught together and when both of them decided to step up in the county ranks, they did that together, too. Knispel became auditor, Mitchell became county assessor.
After retiring, Knispel said, she has lots of plans. She wants to volunteer at the Goshen Hospital. She wants to spend time with her children.
"It's going to be fun to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it," she said. "I love my home. I love my Syracuse town and there's so much I want to do.
"I've given a good part of my life to county government and politics. The politics will probably continue," she said. "I enjoy that too much. I wouldn't want to give that up."
Knispel also serves as a precinct committee member and secretary of the county's Republican Central Committee. She said she has met senators and representatives and has worked for them and will again, if they ask.
Mike Miner, Republican party county chairman, said, "I think Charlene has been a strong supporter of not simply the (Republican) party but also the county government for as long as I've known her."
He said that while she will no longer be a public officeholder, "I'm hoping she'll be active in the party for a long time. I made sure of that when I talked to her!"
Charlene said it is often fun to look back and, in looking back, she has her children and career to make her proud.
"If I had to say anything, I would say I had a good life," she said. [[In-content Ad]]