Coeur d’Alene said goodbye to one of its foundational pillars of support at City Hall with cheers, tears and well-wishes.

Amy Ferguson, one of the most familiar and welcoming faces at City Hall, retired Thursday. The city’s executive assistant, Ferguson has spent the past two decades serving as a point-of-contact for committees, taking on one-off projects, and organizing the will of the city’s policymakers into a tangible, easy-to-understand record and reality.

“She just one of those people that always goes above and beyond,” City Clerk Renata McLeod said. “If there’s something that she doesn’t know about, she’ll do the research and learn. She’ll really put in the effort to see how to fix what needs to be fixed.”

A willingness to learn is one of many skillsets McLeod said Ferguson brought to the table.

“She’s such a dedicated person,” McLeod said. “She’s just willing to make stuff happen. When we’d get new software, for example: She just took one for the team, got in there to better understand it, then gave trainings to everyone else so they could understand it. I wish I could take more away from her. I really admire her patience and her ability to stay calm.”

Ferguson came to work at City Hall in 1999 as an administrative assistant, where she worked for around a year-and-a-half before stepping away for a few months. In total, she estimates she worked just under 20 years for the city. In that time, she served as a point person on commissions and committees, doing the necessary busy work to keep the city moving forward.

“She’s one of the most professional and consistent and unflappable support administrators I’ve ever seen,” councilwoman Kiki Miller said. “She has a tremendous capacity for keeping everyone in line, keeping everything accurate, and she’s certainly been responsible for keeping those meeting minutes or filling in at every last one of those committee meetings."

One of the last holdouts of shorthand, Ferguson also broke land-speed records with her ability to type 121 words per minute. But Ferguson said the skill she developed in her time with the city that will help her in retirement is her willingness to connect.

“I think this job has given me the ability to meet with a lot of different people,” Ferguson said. “You know, my husband and I are natural introverts, so this place has really helped me get out of my shell and expand my comfort zone.”

That willingness to meet new people will come in handy. Ferguson said that, as she now joins her husband in retirement, the couple will jump in their recreational vehicle and do some traveling. Ferguson said she looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren, with her 14th on the way.

Starting today, Sherrie Badertscher will take over as executive assistant for the city. Ferguson’s advice to her successor is to enjoy the journey.

“She’ll be working with some wonderful people in that building," Ferguson said

Mayor Steve Widmyer said that, while she has full faith in Badertscher and the staff, City Hall will be lacking a familiar presence come Monday.

“Amy’s just fantastic,” he said. “For the seven years I’ve been in office, she has just done a stellar job. Not only has she done a stellar job for the city of Coeur d’Alene, but she’s the nicest, kindest person you’d ever want to meet. She’ll definitely be missed.”