Carbon County is losing its grant coordinator.

During the county commissioners’ meeting this month, the board approved the resignation of Valerie A. Saveri of Jim Thorpe, who has served in this position since last June.

The commissioners each expressed that Saveri had been an asset to the county, finding several grants to help various department.

“Val has proven, not only because of her work ethic, but the value of having a grant coordinator in Carbon County,” said Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko. “Val has taken that position to a level we thought would take years to get to. We know with the right person, which we had found in Val, we’ll be able to continue the awesome foundation that she has already laid for that position.”

“It’s a great loss and will be extremely difficult to get someone that was as good as she is,” said Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, wishing her the best as she moves onto her next endeavors. “It’s going to be difficult to replace her, that’s for sure.”

“Whoever fills that position is going to have very big shoes to fill,” Commissioner Rocky Ahner said last week when providing updates on four county-owned bridges in need of repairs. “I get a lot of credit for the bridges, but Val was the one who probably did 75% of the work. ... Val was the one that put the funding together. She did a tremendous job. ... She dotted her I’s and crossed the T’s and that’s why we’re getting these grants the way we are. It’s going be very hard to replace her. It’s a loss for the county.”

On Thursday, Saveri said that the decision to move on is bittersweet; however, opportunities arose that she couldn’t pass up.

She has accepted a position teaching “Introduction to Paralegal Studies” at Lehigh Carbon Community College; as well as will be working part-time as a support staff at Kemmerer Law Firm in Jim Thorpe.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity to work there part-time,” she said. “It’s going to dovetail very nicely with teaching and I’m very excited to start there in a couple of weeks.”

Saveri has extensive experience in the field of paralegal and it has helped her serve a number of departments within Carbon County over the last several years.

In addition to serving as the grant coordinator, she had previously been in roles in Children and Youth Services, the public defender’s office, clerk of courts and then as a fiscal/legal position in the commissioners’ office.

“It’s been a great experience with the county,” she said. “... I believe the commissioners’ vision for the coordinator position was to support the leaders of our county and they are the ones really doing the hard work. I’m there to support them, assist them and train them on how to use the different application systems and work through any issues as the grants are administered.”

Over the last 14 months, Saveri has assisted in the county being awarded approximately $830,000; has an outstanding $4.1 million in grant applications still pending; and was able to secure approximately $600,000 to help repair bridge 19.

In addition, there have been some smaller grants she has been able to secure that helped bring down the final cost of the courthouse renovation project.

“It was around $3,000, however, that is money back into the county budget,” Saveri said. “Even if it’s a smaller amount, in today’s economy, every dollar counts. You’re not always going to run into million dollar opportunities, but if you can stack up the smaller (grants), you know that makes a difference as well.”

Saveri moved to Carbon County after retiring from PPL in 2020 and said she has had no regrets.

“I really appreciate all of the people that I worked with in the different county offices,” she said, pointing out that through her time supporting various departments, the county has been able to provide more services in some area, such as the treatment courts, district attorney’s office, correctional facility and Children and Youth.

“I would like to express my gratitude for the commissioners and county administrator for having the confidence in me,” Saveri said.

When she’s not working at LCCC or Kemmerer Law Offices, people will still be able to find her doing one additional thing she loves — teaching yoga.

Recently, she was certified as a paddle board yoga instructor and currently offers paddle board yoga classes at the boat launches at Beltzville State Park.

“We paddle out and anchor and then do our yoga class,” she said, noting that for more information on these classes, she can be reached at ladybugpaddle@gmail.com.

Carbon County expects to post the grant coordinator position in the next few weeks.