Sands says good-bye, retiring after 20 years

Cheryl Sands walked into Whitefish Credit Union one day to make a payment and she left with a job working as a teller. The unexpected job was a good fit because Sands recently retired after 20 years there.

“It’s a great place to work. I enjoy my coworkers a lot and the members are just great people too,” Sands said last week. Her last day was Jan. 31. She celebrated her 20th year last August. Before the credit union she worked in Kalispell for a doctor. She also stayed at home with her two children until they were school age.

One of Sands’ coworkers, Beverly Lakes, said that Sands strived to help all the credit union members throughly.

“She’s very sweet,” Lakes said.

Members who don’t know that she retired, will “be asking for her for months and months and months,” Lakes said.

Lakes started working at the credit union at the Whitefish branch 15 years ago. About two years later she moved to the Columbia Falls office and got to know Sands, who was a good resource.

“If you ever need any information on a member, she [Sands] knows,” Lakes said. “Cheryl knows everybody in Columbia Falls — and their uncle and their brother.”

Another coworker, Sharleen Schmidt, agreed with Lakes and added that Sands knows anyone who has been in town for any length of time. Sands was born in the Flathead Valley and went to high school in Columbia Falls.

When Schmidt started at WFCU 3.5 years ago, her first impression of Sands was that “she went out of her way to make me feel welcome.”

They’ve become good friends outside of work and Schmidt doesn’t believe that will end, but she’ll miss working with Sands.

“She’s a good team worker,” Schmidt said of Sands. “We laugh a lot and have a good time.”

The credit union had a retirement party for Sands Feb. 4. Members came to see her and give her hugs.

Lakes said that Sands was “gracious and glowing” because of all the attention.

Sands’ husband is Mike Sands, who also went to school in Columbia Falls. They’ve been married for 48 years.

They moved away a couple of times. Her husband took them to California when he was in the Navy and to New Orleans when he was deep sea diver for an oil company.

In retirement, they plan to continue living in Columbia Falls, camping and boating on the Hungry Horse Reservoir.

They also plan to spend more time with their grown children, a daughter and son in Arizona. Their son is married with three children. They also have a grandson, Brandon Sands, who lives in Columbia Falls.