Paige Myrick began working for the City of Pell City as the Chief Financial Officer in August.

A resident of Pell City for one year and a newlywed for six months, the city’s new CFO, Paige Myrick, says this small town has found a special place in her heart.

“I really love it here.  I love the community feel,” Myrick said.

On August 21 Myrick began working for the city.

“I started work the day after my birthday.  It was a wonderful present,” Myrick said.

What she loves most about Pell City: “I like knowing my neighbors.  I have been blessed with such wonderful neighbors in Pine Harbor.  I don’t think many cities in this country are like that anymore.  Most people don’t know their neighbors.”

The Pell City advantage: “It still offers a community feel, but you are still close enough to a bigger city for shopping and other things.”

Life before Pell City: “I worked for Baptist Health System in downtown Birmingham.  I worked in accounting, auditing, operations, financial and tax reporting.”

Life as a newlywed: “I enjoy the love and support of having someone there for me.”

What she loves most about her new job: “I love driving less than 10 minutes to work, and I enjoy meeting my husband for lunch occasionally.  The people I work with are great too.”

Biggest challenge: “There are so many aspects of learning a new job that you don’t think about until you’re actually working, I am still learning all the little intricacies of this job.”

Stumbling into accounting:  “It was process of elimination.  I did sales and management training and sold financial plans and insurance products.  I found that at 22 trying to sell insurance to people who probably needed more financial stability was harder than I thought it was going to be.  Then I got an internship in accounting to see if I would like it.”

Away from the office: “My husband and I enjoy spending time on the water and golfing at Pine Harbor Country Club.”

Learning a new game: “I started taking tennis lessons at the civic center with Sarah Stewart.  It has been a great way to meet new people and stay active.”

Biggest challenge when playing tennis: “Learning to relax.  I find that if I relax I do so much better.”

Most rewarding aspect of the game: “As you get older, there are not a lot of competitive sports for adults.  This gives me the opportunity to compete for the sake of enjoyment.”

Best advice she ever received: “Don’t give unsolicited advice.”

Favorite childhood memory: “Spending time on my dad’s farm playing on the bale hay and feeding the horses.  My dad also let me record the cows that received medicine as they came through the shoot, so I guess my accounting career started early.’