In May of 2009 IIMC had two Quill Award Winners

 Brenda M. Cirtin, MMC
 City Clerk • City of Springfield, Missouri

 Brenda M. Cirtin, MMC, was appointed City Clerk for the  City of Springfield in 1993. As City Clerk, she provides  support to the Mayor and City Council, records the official  minutes of the City Council meetings and several boards,  commissions and committees, supervises office and clerical  support functions, coordinates municipal elections with the County Clerk, and serves as repository for all official City records.

Cirtin served as the City Clerk for Jefferson City, MO, from March 1986 until December 1991. During her tenure in Jefferson City, Cirtin acquired her CMC designation. In 2004, Cirtin was awarded the designation of Missouri Professional City Clerk through the Missouri City Clerk and Finance Officer's Association.

Cirtin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Evangel University, and professional memberships in IIMC, (MOCCFOA), and the Southwest Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association. Cirtin served as President (1999-2000) for MOCCFOA for which she also served as Secretary from 1997-1998 and President Elect from 1998-1999. Cirtin served on the IIMC Board as Region VII Director from 2005 to 2008. In 2007, Cirtin was inducted into the Athenian Leadership Society as a Charter member.

Her mentoring philosophy is the zeal behind her service, inspiring new Clerks and invigorating tenured Clerks.

 Pamela Smith, MMC
 City Clerk • City of Sanibel, Florida

 City Clerk of Sanibel since 1999, Smith exudes the  characteristics of this Award. Beginning her career in the  Clerk's profession in 1996, Smith assumed an active role in  the Florida Association of City Clerks and quickly  immersed herself in her Association, serving on various  committees.
In June 2009, she will succeed to the Presidency.

The Florida League of Cities selected Smith as City Clerk of the Year in November 2006, a mere six years after she joined her Association. Most recently, she was chosen IIMC's North American representative in IIMC's first Exchange Program.

Her leadership activities extend well beyond the committees and her Association's Board of Directors. She believes everyone should engage in self-development and is a strong advocate for IIMC education and professional development, mentoring new Clerks into the profession, and addressing issues facing Clerks in her state.

In her City, Smith was the driving force to use a document management system, leading her City toward a paperless process, thereby, saving time and cost. She is working on the next step in the document imaging process of developing a web-based system that will provide citizens rapid access to City records and documents.

According to her Florida colleagues, Smith embodies all the characteristics for the ultimate City Clerk. She has heart, courage, and is determined to make herself, IIMC and the Florida Clerk's Association the best that they can be.

For more information on this award in 2010, click here.

2009 Institute Director Award

 Debbie Cook
 University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

 Debbie has served as Institute Director for the Colorado  Institute for Municipal Clerks since 1980. In her role as  Institute Director, she has been actively involved with the  Colorado Municipal Clerks Association education  committee and the many clerks who have attended her  institutes and academies. She has grown to admire and respect many of these clerks who work so hard for their community and who show such dedication to their professional education. Debbie thinks that one of the benefits of serving as Institute Director is that in whatever town she travels to in the state of Colorado, she is never a stranger. She always knows someone, the clerk.

She is currently the Interim Deputy Director of Housing and Dining Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her primary duties include supervision of Information Technology, Conference Services, Family Housing, Bear Creek Apartments, the Campus Childcare Center and Human Resources. She has been heavily involved with the department's strategic planning initiative and serves on many campus committees including Emergency Management Operations, Student Orientation, and the University Memorial Center student union board.

Prior to this, Debbie served as a conference coordinator and subsequently Director of CU Conference Services, a full service conference meeting planning operation hosting approximately 110 conferences per year ranging from 20 - 7,000 participants.

Debbie has also played an active role on many boards and committees including the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board and the City of Boulder's Conference Center Task Force and Tourism Master Plan advisory committees.

Debbie will retire from her position as Colorado Institute Director in December of 2009.

For more information on this award in 2010, click here.

Program Excellence in Governance Award

 Frances W. Kersey, MMC
 City Clerk • Oklahoma City, OK

 The 2009 Award winner is the City of Oklahoma City, OK,  City Clerk, Frances Kersey, MMC. Kersey was  instrumental in creating innovative ways of collaborating  with other municipal departments to deliver better service  to citizens. She implemented the electronic Agenda  Management system to allow businesses, government and citizens to access documents and information 24-hours daily, seven days a week.

The electronic agenda process eliminated at least 300 man hours required to process agenda items by walking them from department to department for approval. The workflow Kersey assisted in creating adhered to the established records management policies and procedures. The Agenda management System is in line with the City Council issues and strategic priority to maintain citizen confidence as its highest priority.

“By making Oklahoma City government more transparent, we grow citizen confidence and trust in City Government,” said City Manager James D. Couch.

For more information on this award in 2010, click here.

Athenian Leadership Society Inducts Three Fellows

Mary Lynne Stratta, MMC
City Secretary • Bryan, Texas

Sandra Hart, MMC
City Secretary • McKinney, Texas

Shirley Gentry, MMC
City Secretary • Austin, Texas

The Athenian Leadership Society is an educational society whose purpose is to provide Municipal Clerks with access to professional development programs with a primary emphasis on leadership. Books are the center piece of this program. The Society provides encouragement and support for Clerks who wish to continue their education and provide the discipline essential to sustain a commitment to read a diverse literature. The program structure of the Society is Dialogues that are one-day in length. Clerks are required to read a book selected for a Dialogue and then participate in a semantic autopsy of that book, led by a scholar/facilitator. To date, IIMC members from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Minnesota and Ohio have attended these Dialogues.

For the past several years, IIMC members have taken part in these Dialogues. As the program grew, participants were developing critical thinking skills and increasing their leadership ability while building toward a goal of becoming a Fellow.

2009 President's Award of Merit Given to:

 Colleen J. Nicol, MMC
 City Clerk • Riverside, California

 

Olivia P. Woods, CMC
Retired Municipal Clerk • Atlanta, Georgia