Centra Employee Retires After 55 Years

Most people retire after 30, 35, maybe even 40 years of work, but not Larry Kitterman. Larry retired from Centra last week with a whopping 55 years under his belt. And not 55 years of work at different companies; 55 years at Centra.

Fifty-five years ago, Larry received a telegram telling him he’d received a job offer from Centra. Since that day, Larry has held various job titles at Centra including Loan Officer, Accounting Manager and AVP of Finance. He ended his career as Accounting Specialist.

The overwhelming impact Larry made on both Centra and the community was evident when the Centra corporate building was abuzz with Larry’s family and friends for his retirement party last week. Even the Mayor showed up to proclaim April 4 as Larry Kitterman Day in Columbus, Indiana.

Larry’s colleagues and friends took the opportunity to tell stories of just how special he was to them and Centra at the retirement party.

One woman who spoke at the party, worked with Larry when he first began his career with Centra. She said she wasn’t sure Larry would stick around when he started, because he was assigned a desk right next to the bathroom. She never expected to be speaking at his retirement party 55 years later.

Another woman spoke of a time she was in a very important meeting and was asked a question she didn’t have the answer to. Instead of panicking, she called Larry who answered the question immediately. She credited Larry with helping her to keep her job.

Everyone in the room last week had a story of a time Larry has impacted them, whether it was when he put candy canes on everyone’s desk at Christmas, that he always kept the coffee pot filled, that he never wavered in his constant positivity, or something larger, like when he helped them keep their jobs with his knowledge.

People like Larry are few and far between and we are so thankful he chose to dedicate his career to helping Centra thrive. Though we will all miss him, we know this retirement is well-deserved and we are excited for his future. We’re hoping to hear stories about his adventures playing softball and volleyball, and volunteering at local elementary schools.