Coming from the City of Ocala, Diane Reichard started as chief financial officer of the City of Plant City Monday, Aug. 3. She will take over for Martin Wisgerhof, the director of the finance department. He is retiring at the end of August.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Reichard said. “It’s a thriving community. There’s a lot going on.”
Reichard was recruited by City Manager Mike Herr. He had asked some mutual acquaintances, including colleagues she worked with at the City of Temple Terrace, about her credentials.
“Considering her degree, being a CPA … we’ve got a good person here with good references,” Herr said. “I didn’t see the purpose of an exhaustive search.”
Originally from Missouri, Reichard has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Leo College and a master’s degree in business administation from University of Florida.
She is also a certified public accountant, certified government finance officer, certified public finance officer and a certified global management accountant.
“It’s all about relationships when you get to this level,” Reichard said about first meeting Herr, Assistant City Manager of Public Safety Bill McDaniel and other city employees. “It was a fit.”
Reichard is looking forward to working with all the industry and manufacturing in Plant City.
“People are starting to rebound from the economy,” Reichard said. “Expansion is now bringing revenue. I’m excited to put a team together to support the plans the city manager has.”
Although she has lived in Ocala for the past two years, Reichard is no stranger to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. She lived in Wesley Chapel for seven years and visited Parkesdale Farm Market and the Florida Strawberry Festival.
While in Ocala she served as the chief financial officer and assistant city manager where she oversaw budget, finance, accounting, procurement, audit, treasury, debt, contract, customer service and utility billing, and financial policies and procedures.
Before Ocala, Reichard was the finance director for seven years for the City of Temple Terrace, where she dealt with many of the same responsibilities.
For 19 years she was with the City of Leesburg, moving up the ranks to budget manager in 1997, then to deputy finance director in 2002.
“I’m a worker bee, but I have fun in life,” Reichard said.
She enjoys walking, tennis and piano. Her husband, John, is a pastor. She has a son, Mark, who is also a pastor, and one granddaughter, Sarah, 3.
Martin Wisgerhof
Martin Wisgerhof has been with the City of Plant City for 27 years.
He first started as the assistant finance director in preparation to take over as finance director and city clerk when the then-finance director retired a year later.
“I’ve seen (the city) grow and a lot of improvements made,” Wisgerhof said.
He remembers doing the budget on green bar computer paper and having to punch his timecard in and send it to Lakeland to be recorded in a computer database.
“We’ve come a long way since then,” Wisgerhof said. “The city keeps progressing and growing.”
Around 2000, his position was split into two separate functions: city clerk and finance director. He continued as finance director.
“I’ve enjoyed the people I’ve worked with,” Wisgerhof said. “It seems like the city has always had a good governing board that worked together. … You could tell people really cared. It was not just a job. It’s special to them.
Wisgerhof graduated from University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in accounting. He received his master’s degree in public administration from University of Florida.
He moved to Florida when the company he worked for as a controller relocated to the Sunshine State.
In the first year of retirement, Wisgerhof plans to finish all those projects around the house he’s been putting off. He likes to shoot pool and do puzzles. But he doesn’t have any big travel plans until his wife, Nancy, retires. Wisgerhof has a daughter, Maria.