I have to give a lot of the credit of my employment with the county clerk’s office to my dad, Jimmy Cochran. He was the director at Camp Summers, the county’s 4H camp, and that’s how the connection was made between Mary Beth and me. July 13, 1999, was my first day of work here and Norma Lilly met me in the parking lot to show me where not to park. Mary Beth took me around to each office and introduced me to everyone in the courthouse. That has been over 22 years ago! It is so hard to believe I’ve been here that long and yet sometimes it seems like yesterday that I left Pipestem State Park and came to work here.
At that time Ruth Noble, Norma Lilly, Vera Epling, and Donna Helms were the deputy clerks and Joyce Ritter was the secretary for the county commission. As the years passed, some retired or moved away and new faces came on board such as Debbie Bowling, Nicole Duvall, Donnie Basham, Timothy Sims, Sarah Wheby, Ann Slatton, Kimberly Foster and Susan Turner Rutherford and some of them have now retired or moved on to other employment.
When I came on board I waited on customers and worked in the record room copying and indexing documents such as deeds, deeds of trust, etc. I went to an elections training and decided I wanted to be the elections deputy and I became the “voter girl”. This meant learning and maintaining the new statewide voter registration system, overseeing absentee and early voting, helping train poll workers, preparing the election equipment for election day, election day vote tabulation, updating voter history and all the state and federal reporting that must be done following an election. The county used to hire outside help to run the election equipment on election day but in 2002 Commissioner Clyde Grimmett appointed me to be trained to run the election day equipment and I have done so for the last 20+ elections.
In the 22 years of being the elections deputy we have gone through 3 different voting systems: optical scan ballots, iVotronics and now ExpressVotes. This required many, many hours of training to learn and implement each of these systems.
Running an election is only one facet of the county clerk’s responsibilities and can be nerve-racking and exhausting but is so important and rewarding. Our office strives to preserve the integrity of the election process and it is my desire to continue doing this for Summers County. That’s one reason I want to be the next Summers County Clerk.
Elections are a very important part of the county clerk’s office but it doesn’t stop there. In the last 22 years, I have been the county’s budget/payroll/HR clerk, keeping the county bills paid each month and doing payroll for county employees twice each month. Donna Helms and I used to partner in these tasks but when she moved out of state in 2012 they became my sole responsibilities.
Budget/Payroll/HR means keeping an eye on the county budget and assisting the county commissioners and the county clerk each year to set the county’s annual budget; working with the state auditors each year to prepare the annual financial statement and the annual audit; preparing and filing the state and federal payroll reports, quarterly reports and annual reconciliation reports; preparing w2s for county employees and 1099s for contractors every year. It also includes enrolling new employees into the county retirement system, insurances and other benefits, maintaining the county timeclock system and assisting retirees with their retirement paperwork.
Managing state and federal grants are a key responsibility of the county clerk’s office. In my 22 years here in the county clerk’s office millions of dollars of grant monies have passed through our office. These grants allow the county as well as local entities to better our county and communities in ways that without the grant monies would be impossible. The grant process is very time-consuming from start to finish. Applications must be submitted and approved before purchases are made. These purchases must meet grant requirements before they are submitted for payment. Once payments are made reports must be submitted so the county will be reimbursed by the state and federal governments. Some of the grants we have managed include ACWP, the John Henry Historical Park, the Graham House, Talcott and Forest Hill Fire Departments, the Mercer/Summers Water Project, the Sand Knob Water Project, the Meadow Creek Sewer Project, the Appalachian South Folklife Center, and the Wellness Center. Through state and federal grant funding the county has been able to purchase two sets of new voting equipment, an elevator for ADA accessibility to the second floor of the courthouse, new roofs on the courthouse and the memorial building, new heating systems for both buildings, electrical upgrades and a new fire alarm/sprinkler system. Last year COVID-19 funds were passed through the county to local food banks, fire departments, police departments and the Summers County Council on Aging. The county is now in the process of providing high-speed internet throughout the county through grant funding. Serving as the county’s grant manager is very gratifying when grant recipients are so appreciative of the help they have received to better their communities.
The county clerk’s office covers so many more areas than these. The clerk’s office houses a lifetime of important records from birth to death. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, wills, deeds, probate records, DD214s (military discharge records), deeds of trust (mortgage records), just to name a few, are preserved in the vault and many have been digitally backed up. We receive multiple requests each day by phone, by mail, email and in-person for copies of these important life records.
Mary Beth has set the bar high for a friendly and efficient office. We often call it a well-oiled machine and are complimented all the time that we are the friendliest and nicest county clerk’s office in the state! Being the county clerk is a demanding yet fulfilling position. The clerk not only has to manage her office but works with the County Commission and all other elected county officials, city, state and federal officials, as well as other entities for the good of the county. At the end of the day, it feels great to have put in a good day’s work and know you have been a help to others.
I want to become the next County Clerk to continue the standard of excellence that has been put in place in Summers County! I am so humbled by the support I have already received and will so greatly appreciate your vote on May 10, 2022, and November 2, 2022.
