A new face is behind the counter at the Woolwich town office. Selectmen have hired Candace Conrad was tax collector.

“We’re just thrilled to have Candace working for us,” said Chairman David King Sr. “She has a wealth of experience having worked for the federal government, she’s local and we hope she’ll stay with us a long time.”

Conrad doesn’t have to travel far to work. She lives just a few minutes away on Murphys Corner Road. As with all of the town’s new hires, she’ll be on six months’ probation and on reduced pay until she is made a permanent employee, King added.

Conrad and her husband of 37 years, Patrick Murray, moved to Woolwich from Bath six years ago. Both are retired from the military, having served in the Navy. She told Wiscasset Newspaper, like many other military families they lived in a number of states before coming to Maine in 2009, when Murray was stationed in Brunswick. Conrad and Murray served in the Navy at different times. They met at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

After retiring from the Navy in 1985, Conrad worked for the federal government for the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Later she worked for the Department of Veteran Affairs at Togus in Augusta.

“I was a claims examiner and ratings specialist until I retired from there a year ago,” she said.

So, what made her apply for tax collector? “After my husband retired from the Navy in 2013, he went to work for Bath Iron Works. I thought about going back to work too and heard they were short staffed at the town office.”

Conrad’s first day on the job was Oct. 28. Although her primary duties are collecting real estate, property and excise taxes, she’s also cross training to do motor vehicle registrations, sell hunting and fishing licenses and more. She said it’s been fun but challenging learning these new tasks. Conrad has the benefit of working with Town Administrator Kim Dalton and Town Clerk Chelsea Lane. Both have a great deal of experience in town government. The last few months, Dalton has been serving as interim tax collector.

“People coming to the window have been very friendly and welcoming,” Conrad said. “One of the best parts of the job is meeting so many new people.”

Conrad and Murray have two grown sons, one in Portland, Oregon, the other in North Platte, Nebraska. The couple have six grandchildren.

Being a military family has enabled Conrad and her husband to see a good deal of the country. They’ve lived in the Midwest, South and Southeast, along with U.S. territories Guam and Puerto Rico.