Pinter retires after long career with Mason County

Matt Baide | Nov 18, 20210

After working for Mason County for a decade, Frank Pinter has decided it is time to spend more time with his friends and family.

Pinter started working for the county in October 2011. He started as finance manager for the Mason County Sheriff’s Office before moving to budget manager for the county. He then became the Support Services Director before taking over as interim County Administrator prior to his retirement. He joined the county because he wanted to work close to home and work for the betterment of the citizens of Mason County.

Originally from the east coast, he went to Southern California for a period of time before settling in Shelton for the past 25 years, moving to the area because of family.

He said he didn’t always have a desire to work in public service.

“Most of my career was in business finance, banking and commercial business, CFO’s, directors of finance, things of that nature,” Pinter said.

Pinter said it was much more rewarding working for the county.

“I actually impacted the citizens and the community as opposed to shareholders,” Pinter said.

He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting and business and has post-graduate work in finance and economics.

Being at the county 10 years, he has a number of projects he enjoyed working on.

“Some of the intrical things like working with the implementation of the new accounting system, financial management system,” Pinter said. “Working through the difficulties of a levy shift. Working through the reviews by the citizens of the criminal justice system. The review of the jail and then most recently, the implementation of a motor pool system to afford the Sheriff’s Office deputies the opportunity to drive much safer pursuit vehicles.”

He is also proud of helping build the county reserves and leaving Mason County in the best financial shape it’s ever been in, which took about six years of implementing policies.

The pandemic was a difficult thing to navigate for Pinter, but with federal funding, the county was able to mitigate the negative economic impacts to the county.

Pinter said there were days where it was tough, but overall, he felt it wasn’t a job.

“It was a pleasure to work for the commissioners, difficult to work for three bosses, however never a problem and was always a very good environment for moving the agenda’s forward, whatever they may have been,” Pinter said.

He plans on keeping in touch with the commissioners he worked with and considers all of them friends, and they also consider him a friend.

The Mason County commissioners recognized Pinter at his final meeting on Oct. 26.

“One of our finest is leaving us and I got to tell you, what an incredible pleasure it has been to work with you, Frank,” commissioner Randy Neatherlin said during the meeting. “I can’t tell you how many smiles you’ve put on my face over the year. People will never recognize and realize how many times that you’ve stood in the wake of a storm, only to hold us up and keep us moving and keep us from falling over. I have been here a long time and I’ve seen it and witness it myself, over and over again. I have watched commissioners call you for help, for support, for advice, and for maybe just to pull a rabbit out of your hat. My friend, you have been a sheer pleasure and honor to this organization. You have represented Mason County in a way that others dream and hope to, including myself. The fact that you are going to be leaving us is such a sad day but at the same time, it gives you a new opportunity for your life.”

Commissioner Kevin Shutty congratulated Pinter for his service to Mason County during his final meeting.

“Having been here for a few years now, I’ve enjoyed getting to work with you and learn from you and I think build a stronger county that has a very bright future,” Shutty said. “I’m grateful for all of those opportunities to just dig into the work and get things done on behalf of the public. While it’s a bittersweet moment this morning to say thank you, and wish you well in your retirement. I’ll always be able to look back fondly on the work that we were able to do together and those things that we were able to accomplish together and so just wish you all the best in your retirement and health and happiness as you move on and don’t be a stranger.”

Pinter said he was ready to retire when he was old enough and he has plans to enjoy his family.

“To enjoy my wife, to enjoy my kids, to enjoy Shelton and everything in the community that it has to offer,” Pinter said. “Some fishing, some camping, some boating.”

Commissioner Sharon Trask remembered sitting down with Pinter her first day in office.

“He was full of information! I appreciated his desire to help me understand the inner workings of the county and some of the duties I would be filling,” Trask wrote in an email to the Journal. “His knowledge of the budget and his memory of the finer details was truly helpful to a new commissioner. One thing I valued about Frank was his ability to keep politics out of his recommendations. He will be missed, but I am excited for his new future and time with his lovely wife.”

He has lots of places he enjoys visiting in the county, but his favorite place is his home.

Pinter said working for the county has been one of his top life experiences.

“Only because of the ability to, and hopefully, in bettering the lives of the citizens,” Pinter said. “I leave the county in the best financial condition the county has ever been in with the best staff that it has ever had in the sense that they’re the most capable, knowledgeable and have the best interests of the citizens and the county at heart. The prospect going forward is much better than when I got into it.”