After 28 years, Las Cumbres Finance Manager Lorraine Jaramillo is retiring from the agency’s finance department where she has long been the patient and unflappable accounts receivable magician. Lorraine’s employment with the agency first began in 1993 when the Las Cumbres administrative offices were located in White Rock before moving to Española and into the agency’s Hunter Street building. Before her departure, you would find her at the end of the hall in the Española administrative office site, surrounded by three large computer monitors, eclipsing her small workhorse body.
In a recent interview before her imminent retirement, Lorraine told the Development and Communications Team that she came to know that accounts receivable was simply “her thing”. That said, she spent many years doing multiple tasks. “You name it, I was doing it” she described her typical workload, “supervising accounts payable and training others in the use of Excel.”. She went on to say that If she could help make someone else’s job easier, she would set her mind to helping that individual so that they could concentrate on their primary job.
“I think I did that” she nodded.
Lorraine taking a break in her earlier years
“I was brought up to be independent,” Lorraine told us, which her mother felt she would need with her disability. Originally from Las Vegas, New Mexico, Lorraine was one of nine children and she lived much of her childhood at the Carrie Tingley Hospital for Crippled Children in Truth or Consequences. “Working with Las Cumbres has been a way to give back” explains Lorraine, followed by saying “Life is just so wonderful as long as you’re willing to give and take”.
Many Finance Directors came through the organization during Lorraine’s nearly three-decade tenure, and she explains that she learned something from each one. A former Executive Director always boasted that if Lorraine didn’t know how to do something, she would set out to learn. Throughout the years, while her personal disability challenges were increasing, Lorraine continued to dedicate herself tirelessly to keep the finance department well-oiled and churning. Now, however, “it’s time that I retire and take care of myself” she describes, “but God has other plans for me”, referring to the arrival of her husband’s grandchildren into their lives. “Just as I was wondering how I was going to be home all alone with myself”, Lorraine’s pixie smile comes across her face, “these wonderful boys arrived needing our care.”
When asked what she will miss, Lorraine said simply “the work”, saying how quickly the day would pass in the office once she walked in and got settled. She also lit up describing the beauty of all variety of cultures and people with which she worked. “Every employee brings something of themselves”, Lorraine paints a clear picture, recognizing quickly that she was never alone in her personal hardships. “I would never have grown as I did if I had not worked with Las Cumbres” she assents.
How does she feel about leaving the finance department in the hands of her co-worker and office mate, Victoria Martinez, we wondered? “Victoria will do a great job though she won’t be a hand holder like I was” laughs Lorraine. “She’s great with computers and with people; everything will be in good hands.” And, Lorraine, bowing out gradually, indicated too that if Victoria needs help, she will be there for her.