Gay collins

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Fun fact, La Porte is lucky enough to be the first (and hopefully the last!) governmental body for which she has worked.

News Flash

Gay Collins, 30 Years in Municipal Government

Gay Collins has been with the City of La Porte for an incredible thirty years. She sees school innovation as happening in these new spheres, and she wants to be a part of that change.

Gay has had the opportunity to work with five mayors, six city managers, and three finance directors. We salute her 30 years of achievement and service to the City of La Porte."

It is clear that the City of La Porte is Gay’s second home, a place where she feels she has a group of people she cherishes and deeply appreciates.

Gay Collins

Gay has taught public education for 26 years, starting with middle school language arts and then moving on to high school English, American literature, public speaking, studies in drama, and creative writing.

While working full time , Gay attended the University of Houston-Clear Lake and graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She currently serves as a university supervisor within The University of Connecticut’s NEAG School of Education where she helps develop new teachers and speaks and writes publicly on topics related to teaching and learning during these times of change.

The conversation began by Victoria inquiring about what changes Gay has seen throughout the years and which have impacted her the most. One thing led to another, which eventually saw the beginning of her career as an accountant in 2010. Gay’s previous supervisor, Cynthia Pearson, recognized Gay ‘s talent and promoted her to Accountant.

Prior to Montfort, Gay co-founded Ludgate Communications, then Penrose Financial, which became MHP.

Gay is a founding Steering Committee member of the 30% Club; a board member of the Association of Investment Companies, a NED of Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust Plc and for 9 years was a NED of JP Morgan Global Growth and Income plc.

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“The kind of different that is uncomfortable at first, as it is unknown and that is scary to most, but it brings nothing but growth, new experiences, and learning opportunities.

It is safe to say that she has had the opportunity to really see it all.

Gay also shared some of her employment milestones and which she felt have really impacted her work environment, starting with changes in technology. In the last few years Gay has become increasingly interested in student mental health, school culture, and teacher morale.

In the early years, the Finance Department produced 100 copies of the annual budget books, at over 100 pages apiece, that had no room for error since at that time there were no online editing tools. “We’re all like a family,” she said, “and I am grateful to have them”.

Gay recently retired so that she could free herself to take on new directions while still remaining immersed in education.

Assistant Finance Director Shelley Wolny said of the occasion, “I’m happy to celebrate Gay’s thirty years of loyal service to the City of La Porte. If her computer was down, there was no system in place to have it restored quickly, as computers were run on a boxed hard drive that would be removed and could take up to a day to be restored.

In Gay’s words, “I am so happy that things have evolved because the job is done more efficiently and in a timely manner.

Gay is hard working, competent, and dependable. What once cost you double the work to complete now you can finish within a few hours!”

Lastly, Gay shared some advice about working in municipal government as well as some memories she’s made in her time here.

“It is very different but a good different,” she emphasized.

Originally from Louisiana, she arrived here in spring 1994 and began working for the City a month later.

As a teacher emeritus Gay brings an unparalleled level of insight and compassion to her work. She has started working with students outside of the public system, which she feels has become over-burdensome and sluggish. As a member of our award-winning finance department, Gay is our Grant Accountant, overseeing $2million in state and federal funding.

This work led her to think more broadly about the education system, eventually leading to certificates in school administration and positive psychology. She reminisced on the City’s barbecue cookoffs that used to take place and picnics at the La Porte wave pool and within the Finance Department, as well as the monthly birthday celebrations for Finance team members.

Michael Dolby, the City's Finance Director, also lauded Gay's long and devoted service, saying, "Gay Collins began her career with the City as an administrative assistant to the Director of Finance.