Cassi Keeton, MBA, CCFO, has charted a remarkable journey through the worlds of finance and real estate. Since 2018, she has served as the finance director for Decatur County Government, where she has played a pivotal role in transforming the county’s financial landscape, reducing audit failures from an annual average of eleven to nearly zero. She oversees payroll and accounting for the entire county, ensuring efficient office operations. In 2024, she expanded her expertise into real estate, becoming a realtor with Clear Choice Realty. In this role, she collaborates with clients and fellow realtors to facilitate home sales and manage offers.
Commitment to public service is evident through Ms. Keeton’s role as a county commissioner for Decatur County, a position she has held since 2022, and her tenure as an alderman for the Town of Decaturville, serving three terms since 2012. Her entrepreneurial background includes owning Poplar Drive Photography from 2018 to 2024, contributing as a market builder at Monat Global from 2017 to 2021, and refining her financial expertise as a financial reporting specialist I at American Health Partners Inc. from 2016 to 2018. Earlier in her career, she gained experience as an accountant at Jones Motor Company and as a marketing coordinator at American Health Partners Inc.
Ms. Keeton laid a strong academic foundation, earning a bachelor’s degree in communications broadcasting from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2009, followed by a Master of Business Administration in leadership from Freed-Hardeman University in 2012. She is also a certified county finance officer. Her extensive civic engagement incudes serving as a board member for the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Decatur from 2014 to 2021 and as vice president of the Decaturville Mainstreet Association from 2013 to 2020. Moreover, Ms. Keeton has continued with the family tradition that her grandmother started – being a dedicated supporter of St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Ms. Keeton attributes her success to hard work, self-motivation, and setting clear goals. She believes that consistently working toward those goals has been instrumental in her achievements. She also credits her team’s exceptional collaboration in the public sector, firmly believing in the power of teamwork, encapsulated by her motto, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” She is the proud mother of her nine-year-old daughter, Kate, and outside of her professional life, she enjoys attending her daughter’s sporting events, hiking, and engaging in remodeling and DIY home projects. Looking to the future, she envisions expanding her real estate business while continuing her involvement in local government to support community development.
Ms. Keeton is also passionate about traditional skills such as canning, baking bread, and making butter, aspiring to integrate these into her lifestyle. With a long-term goal of relocating to the countryside, she plans to establish a small family farm, blending her professional aspirations with a meaningful connection to sustainable living and community engagement.