Legislative

Petra Hartness is a Treasurer from Osage Township in Becker County. Petra is a new training assistant for MAT. She has attended a few MAT Spring and Summer courses and has found them to be very knowledgeable with important and valuable information. Her role is to be available at different times throughout the year to answer questions from township officers, primarily clerks and treasurers, assisting in making their job easier. In addition, she will be providing direct training to town officers at identified MAT events and looks forward to meeting everyone.

Lori Stalker is the Clerk for South Harbor Township in Mille Lacs County located on the South end of beautiful Mille Lacs Lake in Central Minnesota. She was appointed the Deputy Clerk of her township in 2005 and was elected Clerk in 2006. She has attended many MAT training events over the years and is very excited to have the opportunity to work with township Clerks and Treasurers as a trainer. She is also looking forward to working with Lucinda and Petra in hopes that they will be able to learn from each other to help educate township Clerks and Treasurers across Minnesota.

Lucinda Messman is the clerk for Becker Township in Sherburne County. She has a degree in Business Administration from NDSU, and grew up working on the family farm in Central Illinois and helping manage several of the family businesses.
Lucinda has been a MAT trainer for three years. She does an outstanding job explaining to clerks and treasurers their various duties. She brings energy and enthusiasm to all her presentations.

Carrie is a native of northern Minnesota. She resides in Harris Township in Itasca County, where she serves as the elected township clerk. She and her husband, Jeremy, are blessed with three beautiful children. Carrie has an AA Degree and an AS degree in Business Administration from Itasca Community College. Carrie is the Communication and Outreach Coordinator at MAT. She is responsible for:

• Lobbying on issues that MAT is pursuing at the State Capitol.
• Developing a Key Contact and Calling Tree program for members to contact their state legislators on MAT priorities.
• Assisting the Event Coordinator on supporting event planning and development.

Call Carrie if:
• You are interested in testifying or participating in MAT’s lobbying program

Julie has been with the Association since 1981. Being involved in many aspects of the Association over the years has led to her current position of Financial Director; the main duties relating to the finances and human resources of the Association.

Julie has lived in the St. Michael-Albertville area nearly all her life. She and her husband, Eugene, have 3 children and 10 grandchildren. Spending time with family and friends and attending family events is what she enjoys most.

Debbie grew up on a hobby farm in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. She graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and then attended Washington University in St. Louis where she earned a Masters in Teaching. Debbie began handling insurance claims at Northland Insurance in 1996. She’s worked on Minnesota of Township claims as a claims examiner at Northland, as primary claims examiner at MATIT’s inception in 2003, and continued her affiliation with the townships as the Claims Administrator for MATIT.

Debbie handles all non-work claims presented to or by Minnesota Townships who are insured by MATIT. Please contact the MAT Agency directly for claims. If your township is sued, please email or fax the complaint directly to the MAT Agency. The claims are then forwarded to her attention for coverage review and investigation.

Dawn grew up in Monticello Township/Wright County and graduated from Monticello High School and the St. Cloud Beauty College. She currently resides in Silver Creek Township/Wright County. She has worked in the insurance industry for the past 18 years and joined MAT Agency in 2015.

Dawn has three primary duties at MAT:

• Agency Assistant: Answering questions township officers may have regarding the township’s Consolidated Liability and/or Worker’s Compensation coverage.
• Property Valuations: Ordering property surveys and/or recalculations
• Work Comp Audits: Answering questions pertaining to the work comp audit form and certificates of insurance

Please contact Dawn if you:

• Are a township officer and have an insurance coverage question
• Are a township officer and need to file a claim
• Are a township officer and have a work comp audit question

Angela has been at the Minnesota Association of Townships since February of 2015. She has had previous office jobs before coming to MAT. Angela attended and graduated from Elk River Senior High. She lives in Zimmerman with her husband and 2 children.

Angela’s primary duty as an Agency Assistant is to assist the Insurance Trust with Policy Renewals and Endorsements. She is also the back-up for the accounting duties when Christa Sellner is out.

If you need to make an Inland Marine change or have a question about your policy, you will contact Angela.

Christa was born in Faribault Minnesota and graduated high school in New Ulm, MN. She attended Clackamas Community College in Oregon before moving back to the state of hockey. She now resides in Monticello, MN with her husband and two daughters. She’s worked in the accounting field for the past 17 years and has been with MATIT since January 2012.

Christa’s primary duties as the Agency Financial Assistant are:

• Accounts Payable/Receivable for Workers Compensation (WC) and Consolidated Liability Coverages (CLC)
• Follow up with members requesting present and past due invoice obligations
• Handle month end accounting reports, etc.
• Support auditors for the agency
• Issue and process policy changes (endorsements), certificates of insurances, new policies, and CLC/WC policy renewals

Please contact Christa with:

• Questions/issues regarding billing, payment status, etc.
• Changes in coverage or questions pertaining to vehicles/equipment and certificates of insurance

Sherry Elleraas grew up on a farm in Isanti County and graduated from St. Francis High School and then the Minneapolis Area Vocational Technical Institute. She joined the Association in 2003.

Her primary duties are:

• Answering and directing telephone calls to staff in MAT and MATIT and answering miscellaneous questions such as IRS mileage rates, terms of officers or where the record retention schedule on the website, etc.
• Refers members to State Auditor’s office, MBA office, or other agencies.
• Updating database of all 9,000+ township officers after March and November elections, and miscellaneous changes throughout the year.
• Maintains list of vendors for CTAS checks and envelopes, 3-part numbered receipts, large ledger sheets, loose-leaf systems, etc.

Contact Sherry if:

• You are updating your address
• Need to report changes in township officers because of resignation or death

Jesi was born in Brainerd, MN. She graduated from Elk River Senior High School in 2003. She currently resides in Otsego, MN with her husband and 2 children (ages 5 & 3). She enjoys spending time outdoors in the summer months and relaxing with her family and friends. Jesi joined MAT in early 2016.

Jesi’s primary duties at MAT are:

1. Payroll
2. Accounts payable and Accounts receivable
3. Event Registration (both online and on-site)
4. Event preparation, i.e. name badges, tickets, etc.
5. Membership

Contact Jesi if you want to:

• Cancel your registration (must be in writing)
• Purchase training materials
• Order requests for MAT items, i.e. Manual, directory, etc.

Colleen grew up in St. Michael, MN, graduating from STMA High School and North Hennepin Community College. She’s been with the Association since 1996 as an Administrative Assistant. She’s involved at the ground level of many of the Associations projects, and you may see her at the registration desk of many of MAT’s events.

Please contact Colleen if you have questions regarding:

• MAT’s Scholarship program
• General questions about MAT events and training
• Compiling Milestones and Memorials for the Minnesota Township Insider

Scott is the Association’s Event Coordinator and Managing Editor of the Minnesota Township Insider. He handles all the event logistics and the onsite registration for many MAT educational meetings. He works closely on the design of MAT’s magazine so when you see him with a camera aimed your way, be sure to smile! That picture just may end up in the next issue of the magazine.

Please contact Scott if you:

• Have a special dietary request for an event
• Are interested in Exhibiting at the Annual Conference
• Have suggestions for alternate venues for our events
• Would like a copy of the MAT Logo
• Have interest in hosting a MAT event
• Have a suggestion regarding the MAT magazine

Ruth grew up on a farm in West-Central Minnesota, graduating from Herman High School and the University of Minnesota, Morris. She went on to attend the University of South Dakota School of Law. She worked in Wisconsin for 25 years before returning to Minnesota and joining the MAT staff in September 2016. She resides in Monticello, MN.

Ruth has three primary duties at MAT:

• Staff Attorney: Answering questions township officers may have regarding their duties;
• Education Director: Developing education programs and training materials for township officers;
• Government Relations: Providing research and background information to present to legislators in support of MAT’s legislative agenda.

Please contact Ruth if you:

• Are a township officer and have a question;.
• Have a suggestion for a speaker for training purposes;.
• Would be interested in speaking at a MAT training event.

Steve answers legal questions for members, represents township interests at the Legislature, and provides training for township officers at MAT events and by invitation of county units of townships.

Steve had a normal and uneventful childhood in Plymouth, Minnesota, playing but not excelling at team sports. He matriculated from the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts and Law School, learning words like matriculate. Steve resides in spacious Buffalo, Minnesota with his wife, three kids, and several imaginary ninjas who frequently hide his car keys. On the rare occasion he has free-time, he pursues sport karate, camping, fishing, hunting, woodworking, and rucking.

Gary grew up on a farm in Southeast MN in Dover township and now resides in Elmira Township in Olmsted County. Gary farmed for about twenty years along with his wife Betty and their three children. He then went to work for Township Cooperative Planning Association and was a Zoning Administrator for most of the townships in Olmsted County.

Gary began his township experience by being elected on the Elmira Town Board in 1987. He then served as a District Director for MAT and held a seat on the township and MAT boards until he became Executive Director of the MN Association of Townships in 2012.

Gary oversees both MAT and MATIT as Executive Director.

Please contact Gary if you have questions or concerns regarding the operations of the Association and MATIT.