Meet Dianne Watson of Heard County Tax Commissioner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dianne Watson.

Dianne, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began my career as a Nurse. Then I had a car accident that ended that career. I broke my back which leads to a long recovery. When I went back to work I realized I could not give my patients the best possible care they needed, so I left the nursing field. I then went back to Technical college for Accounting. At that time I had a two-year-old which made it a definite challenge.

Late Hours of homework, raising a child and going to school full time made it hard but through perseverance and self-sacrifice I accomplished it. To become an Accounting graduate the last thing I needed to do was an internship. So I came to the Tax Office in Heard County and asked If I could do my internship with their office and they said yes. So I finished my internship and graduated. The Tax Commissioner at that time was pleased with my work after I graduated she hired me as a full-time employee.

I worked for the Tax Commissioner for several years and moved up to deputy Tax Commissioner. I worked in the office for 19 Years when my boss decided to retire. I then ran for the position of Tax Commissioner with her full endorsement and won the election. I have been in office for about a year and a half now. It has been a challenge learning the new job and all the laws associated with it. But at the same time, this is what I worked so hard to accomplish, and I did.

I think if you stay true to your goals, work hard, be dedicated and loyal you can achieve your goals. I’m 54 years old but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I set my mind to do. I have completed a savage race which consisted of a 10K with 25 obstacles. There were 750 women in my age category and I finished in 15th place. Not to bad for a 54-year-old. I love to kayak. I recently went on 11 1/2 mile kayak trip and finished it. So I say don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing what you want to do in life, just get out there and do it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. starting with the car accident. I had a long recovery and afterwards realized I could no longer do a good job as a nurse.

Then the next thing was the election process. that is a wait and see game. But I won. This office is full of obstacles and challenges. Working with the public has both. When you become an elected official it is magnified because you are in the public eye and subject to public opinion. Which reinforces that a life of honesty and integrity is essential.

Heard County Tax Commissioner – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our office processes Tags and Titles that come from various sources. We collect Property taxes, Timber taxes and Mobile Home taxes. I then distribute the money to our School System, Our County and the Cities.

We provide excellent customer service to our citizens. I am very proud of my team of ladies that help make all this run smoothly.

I think what sets us apart is our customer service, we always try to help our customers and even go out of our way to help our customers.

People who have recently moved into our county often comment on how easy that was and how nice we are compared to other counties. We treat others the way we want to be treated This is what makes our office successful.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Deciding what you want to do, set a goal and make a plan. Then work hard to achieve that goal. Success!

I will have to run for re-election in about 2 years so I think that’s what I’m looking out for. To win again is my next goal.

Contact Info:

• Address: 201 Park Ave Room 300
  Franklin, GA 30217
• Website: diannewatson@ymail.com
• Phone: 706-675-3391

Image Credit:
Jessica LaPointe, Sheenah Pike, Shaina Coggin

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