My Career at MI Treasury: TERRY STANTON
Former TV anchorman, groundbreaking communications pro, and lifetime baseball aficionado, Terry Stanton is also the state administrative manager for Michigan’s Unclaimed Property program. Joining Treasury in 2001, Terry has served 23 years with the department and the last eight years updating and streamlining the unclaimed property system that reunites Michiganders with their missing money. Here’s how Terry’s Treasury career began…
My Career Path
I studied broadcasting at Central Michigan University. I had always wanted to be the play by play announcer for a baseball team. I love baseball. I tried to walk on at Central but I didn’t make the team — at the time CMU had one of the best college baseball programs in the State, but I had to try! I figured that if I couldn’t play baseball, the next best thing was to talk about it on the radio and call the games. Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell was one of my longtime heroes, along with George Kell and Al Kaline.
I had opportunities to do some sports announcing and newscasting at Central and was hired right out of college by WEYI-TV in Flint. Over a ten year span with WEYI, I went from photographer, reporter, sports director, and news director to executive producer and anchor. I learned a little about a lot — writing, producing, budgeting, and human resources. It was a small station, but it was a terrific, all-encompassing experience.
Moving up, I landed a job in Milwaukee at the city’s number one station, WTMJ-TV. I was a weekday street reporter, and I anchored the weekend shows. At 32 years old I figured I would eventually retire in Milwaukee, but three years later WLNS-TV in Lansing came calling.
The opportunity to be the main evening news anchor near my hometown of Owosso was too good to pass up, but after three years with WLNS I was ready to look for other opportunities. Television is a young person’s game; as a family man with three sons, working two to midnight, five nights a week, and on call on the weekends — it got a little taxing.
The other side of the camera
So, I took a calculated risk and hired into Treasury in a term-limited, 14-month position under Governor Engler as press secretary for Treasurer Doug Roberts. I was a little worried because I had been out on the street interviewing people as a reporter or doing a lot of live reporting as a working anchor, and a desk job made me a bit nervous. It turned out to be a wonderful career move and I was fortunate to work under great treasurers — Doug Roberts, Jay Rising, Bob Kleine, Andy Dillon, Kevin Clinton, Nick Khouri — who all brought different talents to the table and made my ‘desk job’ enjoyable.
That press secretary position under the Engler administration morphed into a role as director of Communications for Treasurer Rising under Governor Granholm. Initially, it was just me in the comms office with an administrative assistant, but after she left I proposed hiring an assistant press secretary instead and was granted approval to bring on Caleb Buhs. Caleb currently serves as the chief deputy director for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB)… needless to say, he was a great hire! Over the years, we added other staff to the communications office and I take pride in knowing that I helped it grow into what we have at Treasury today.
I liked what I did and I appreciated the Treasurers and executive office staff I worked with, but being the director of Communications during a few of those years was a ‘drinking from the fire hose’ kind of situation. My transition to Unclaimed Property in 2016 was the result of several tumultuous years in my life that included the Flint Water Crisis, Detroit’s Bankruptcy, and several changes to the state’s emergency manager law. Unfortunately, I also faced some personal difficulties, losing my best friend when my father died in 2014, followed by the passing of my wife, Jo Anne, 18 months later.
I wasn’t enjoying communications as I had before and just couldn’t put my heart and soul into the position. I told Treasurer Khouri, “I don’t feel like I’m doing you justice. I’m not doing the job the way it should be done.” He suggested that I speak to Chief Deputy Treasurer Tom Saxton about an opening with Unclaimed Property, a section that collects lost or abandoned property (mostly financial assets) from businesses and organizations and reunites the property with its rightful owner. It really was a complete flip-flop from what I had done before, but I needed less stress and anxiety in my life. I needed something new, something to learn, something to really light a fire.
Moving to Unclaimed Property was probably the best decision I ever made in my working career.
Claiming purpose
Sure, I’d been in television and communications which were exciting and cool, but when I needed to expose myself to something different, Unclaimed Property popped up at a perfect time. It’s hard to believe I’ve been the manager now for eight and a half years! I’ve got a great staff, I’ve got a great boss, and we’ve been able to make Michigan’s Unclaimed Property one of the very best programs in the nation.
When I joined Unclaimed Property, our staff makeup was much different than it is today. We had one supervisor on claims, no departmental analysts, and no auditor. In 2017, with several staff moving to other positions within Treasury or to other state agencies, we had a unique opportunity to realign how we do what we do:
- We transitioned our calculation assistants to Customer Service Representatives (CSRs).
- We developed positions for analysts, hired two, and added a second CSR supervisor.
- We created and filled an auditor position; Unclaimed Property participates in multi-state examinations involving national and regional companies and we needed someone to shepherd us through those multi-state audits.
- We upgraded an antiquated paper reporting and claims system to an enhanced, state of the art online system using Kelmar, our chosen third-party vendor. The Kelmar Abandoned Property System (KAPS) literally changed everything about our unclaimed property processes.
The good news is, we take in 4–6 times more claims today than we did prior to using KAPS. That’s part of the ‘bad’ news, too since we now have so many more claims to process in a timely manner. At times our backlogs are sizable and we have had to work overtime to reduce the claims awaiting processing.
Despite the occasional backlog, system and process changes have allowed us to significantly increase the amount of money we return to claimants. Before KAPS, returning $100 million was almost a dream, and this past fiscal year we paid out $138.5 million! We’re hopeful that we can get close to $150 million returned to owners or heirs this fiscal year and I’m sure there’s going to come a day when Michigan Unclaimed Property will pay out $200 million annually.
Part of the program’s success can be attributed to our increased outreach efforts. So far this year, one of every five dollars returned — more than $26 million — is attributable to proactive outreach. Educating the public about unclaimed property and informing businesses and organizations of their reporting responsibilities will ensure more people get their money returned. I am very proud to have been the manager governing the decisions that have benefitted Michigan’s claimants and fundamentally changed how Unclaimed Property operates in our state.
What is Unclaimed Property? Unclaimed Property takes custody of lost or abandoned assets, bank accounts, insurance proceeds, and safety deposit box contents, and holds them in perpetuity while working to reunite the properties with their original owner or the owner’s heirs.
How do I check for missing money? To search the Michigan Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property database, enter a name or business name and select “Search”. All properties containing this name will be included in the results.
My mentors
I worked for Treasurer Doug Roberts for a short duration but he was a great personality. Fun at work, but serious when he had to be and downright tough when the situation called for it. I was saddened to hear of Doug’s passing earlier this summer.
I also learned a lot from, and truly enjoyed working with, former Chief Deputy Treasurer Julie Croll, current Chief Deputy Treasurer Jeff Guilfoyle (back when he was running the Office of Revenue and Tax Analysis (ORTA), and former Chief Deputies Donna Donovan and Tom Saxton. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention my current bosses, Bruce Hanses and Deputy Treasurer Ann Good, who are terrific to work for and always supportive.
I’ve benefited from a lot of smart people, and I’ve been lucky to have so many who’ve been unofficial ‘mentors’ — people I watch and learn from, and who’ve helped build different elements of who I am. My mother and father raised four kids, teaching us to live by the golden rule. I am drawn to people who embody that ethic.
Treasury Success Skills
Communicate with honesty. The most important thing in relationships or in business is the ability to honestly communicate your thoughts and feelings. The Flint Water Crisis was a very difficult time, not only for the terrible impact it had on the residents of Flint, but for those of us working with the city while being called on the carpet by others who perhaps didn’t understand Treasury’s involvement. When you’re taking interview requests or calls from reporters in New York at nine o’clock at night on a Saturday, you can’t lose your head. When you are being peppered with questions in front of seven mics you have to communicate with empathy, honesty and integrity.
Hire great people. I was blessed with a great staff when I took over Unclaimed Property, and we’ve been able to hire great employees whenever we’ve had openings. As a manager, I’m a huge believer that my job is to hire good people, let them do their jobs, and to be a resource that helps them perform their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Play ball! You need a hobby. Mine is baseball. I play in the 40+ league and the 50+ league in Lansing. In the fall, I am going to Fort Myers to play in the Roy Hobbs World Series Adult Baseball Tournament. Baseball has been the love of my life from a hobby standpoint since I was five years old. I’m 61 now and the doubleheaders are a little more of a physical challenge than they used to be, but there’s nothing like being on the diamond among my best friends. Find what makes you want to PLAY.
My Career at MI Treasury is a series designed to highlight the many unique paths to professional success within the department. For current information about Treasury Careers, please visit our website!
