FITCHBURG — After a 25-year career in Fitchburg, City Clerk Anna Farrell is stepping down and retiring from her position in the coming weeks, but she says she’ll remember her time with city fondly.
“I can’t believe it’s been so long, it has really flown by,” said Farrell. “I am very happy that I’ve been able to stay with the city for 25 years. It’s been a great experience and a great place to work.”
Farrell said she is going to miss the people she works with and the residents she interacts with on a daily basis.
“They’re really people I have come to know as friends,” said Farrell. “I’m not going to miss the 16-hour days or the night meetings, but I think I will miss the people the most.”
Over the years, Farrell said she has made dozens of memories that she will always hold onto, including how the city responded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
After news broke about the natural disaster, Farrell said she helped coordinate a food drive to provide assistance.
“I’ll always remember that very fondly because the whole office got behind us, the city got behind us,” she said. “We set up all over the city for collection and we collected two tractor trailer trucks full of food.”
Farrell’s father was in the United States Air Force and her family moved around a lot when she was growing up, eventually settling down in Lunenburg.
She went through the public school system and eventually graduated from Fitchburg State University.
There, Farrell earned a bachelor’s degree in human services and a masters degree in management.
When she was growing up, she actually wanted to become a veterinarian. Farrell said her interests evolved later in life, and they took her toward a career in helping people.
“I think I was drawn toward social work, which I did for a long time,” she said.
Farrell began her career as a social worker at a nursing home, and later became a mental health counselor at the Burbank Hospital.
She spent six years as the executive director for Battered Women’s Resources, a nonprofit organization fighting against domestic violence.
Farrell began her journal for the city in 1994, when she became the Community Development Block Grant Administrator.
“I had been in human services for a long time and I was looking to do something a little different,” she said. “I saw the job open up and I figured I’d throw my hat into the ring.”
After a few years at that position, Farrell wanted to try her hand at something different once again.
In 2001, when the city clerk position was vacated, she applied for the job and has been doing it ever since.
Farrell said the job as clerk is both challenging and rewarding at the same time.
“I’ve always loved a challenge and that’s probably why I chose to keep moving to different areas in the city,” she said.
Though her last day in the office is Nov. 27, Farrell said she will remain involved with the community and has no plans to move away from the city.
“I’d love to remain involved at least for the first few months,” she said. “I just need to figure out what it feels like not to be working full time.”
Farrell’s replacement, Mary de Alderete, has spent the past few weeks learning the ropes and getting accustomed to the position.
Alderete will start her three-year term on Jan. 8, 2020. She is currently serving as the town clerk of Carlisle and is the former town clerk of Lancaster.
“It’s time for a new chapter,” she said. “More time for family and more time for me.”
