County Clerk

Listening to Pat Frank speak to our Journalism class was an enlightening experience. The county clerk is responsible for a lot more than I though, honestly I didn’t really know whatthe county clerk does.

When I first walked in and saw this tiny elder woman at the head of the table, I was a little surprised. I was ever more surprised when I realized how much command she had over everyone in the room that was listening. She is very educated and committed to her job. It was actually refreshing and inspirational to see a woman her age inflicting so much change for the better. The best part is that she was just re-elected. I really loved the fact that Ms. Frank was completely in the loop with technology. My grandmother hates technology. She does not own a cell phone, has no idea how to use a computer and still owns her first black and white television set with the antenna. So listening to Ms. Frank talk about digitizing every court document was astonishing. I think she knows more about the computer age than I do, and I work with it everyday.

I also learned a lot about the court house. I know this is a silly thing to remember, but I always knew weddings were expensive…but I also thought is you got married in city hall or eloped, than it was, well, free. So I was a little shocked to find out that is cost close to $100 for a marriage certificate.

When Ms. Frank spoke about the economy and how it related to her particular field, I think I realized for the first time that no company or organization, even governmental ones are exempt from the distress. The e-recording process is taking quite a bit of time because there are a ton of documents and someone needs to be paid to digitize them. Also the economic crisis seems to be creating more and more documents for the county clerks office to handle. “As revenue goes down, foreclosures go up, Frank explained. The clerk is responsible for that document so it creates more work for the office. Frank also said “As the economy turns sour, you see things happening on a criminal arena, people will rob to get the money they want or think they need. It’s sad to see where society is going.” So it really is opened my eyes to the fact that governmental agencies are also feeling the ripples of the economic crash.

In all, visiting the Pat Frank and the county clerk’s office, really gave me a new perspective on so many things. I hate to think of how uneducated I am when it comes down to public affairs issues, but the knowledge I gained will definitely make me a better journalist.