January 05, 1994,
The Old Fort Bulletin:
Ruth Williams Announces
her Candidacy for Re-Election
Mrs. Ruth Barlowe Williams, McDowell
County Clerk of Superior Court, announced that she
will seek re-election to that office. Mrs. Williams
is a Democrat.
Mrs. Williams has served as Clerk
of Superior Court since September 04, 1973, when
she was appointed to the office following the death
of Robert G. Jarrett. In November 1974, she was
elected to a four year term and was re-elected in
1978, 1982, 1986, and 1990.
Prior to being appointed as clerk, Mrs.
Williams had been employed in the clerk's office for seven
years and had served as an assistant clerk for four years
prior to being appointed clerk.
During her tenure in office, Mrs. Williams
has initiated and, with assistance from a com-(?) improvements
in the clerk's office, including: automating the jury
selection list, reorganizing the office into areas of
specialization, installing, one year ahead of schedule,
automated indexing systems for criminal actions, civil
actions, and judgments, and installing an automated indexing
system for estates. McDowell County was the second county
in the state to implement the automated estates program,
and is one of only five that presently have this system.
|
 |
Mrs. Williams served as president of
the statewide Association of Clerks of Superior Court
of North Carolina from July, 1978 through July, 1979.
This was the first time in the association's 64 years
that McDowell County's clerk had served as president.
Mrs. Williams has served in various other offices for
the association, has served on several committees, and
served as editor of the newsletter for three years. She
is currently chairperson of the Nominating Committee.
Mrs. Williams has been appointed to several
committees by the director of the Administrative Office
of the Courts, and she is presently serving as chairperson
of the Rules of Record-keeping Advisory COmmittee and
is a member of the Microfilm/Records Retention Committee.
The purpose of these committees is to make recommendations
to the director for improvements to record keeping procedures
in the clerks' office. She also serves as a member of
the Civil Task Force. The task of this committee is to
draft methods to fully automate civil actions and judgments.
In 1988, Mrs. Williams was presented a certificate of
appreciation from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Association
of Clerks Superior Court in recognition of dedication
and valued service as Clerk of Superior Court and for
significantly contributing to improvement of the judicial
system.
Mrs. Williams was chosen as an Outstanding
Young Woman of America in 1978.
Mrs. Williams received a Master of Public
Affairs degree from Western Carolina University in May,
1990. She graduated cum laude, from Mars Hill College
with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.
She also has an Associate in Applied Science degree in
accounting from McDowell Technical College.
While at Mars Hill, Mrs. Williams was
a member of the Business Honor Club, and Western Carolina
University, she was inducted into Pi Gamma Mu, an international
honor society in social science.
Mrs. Williams is a 1981 graduate of the
Justice Executives program, which was sponsored jointly
by the Government and the School of Business Administration,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where the program
was conducted. The Justice Executives Program was an intensive
study of policy and managerial responsibility for the
criminal justice system in North Carolina.
A Marion native, she and her husband,
John Michael (Mike) are the parents of four sons, Chris,
Darby, Cliff, and Craig, and they have three granddaughters,
Chrissy, Nikki and Alix. Mrs. Williams is the daughter
of Pearl Day Chapman of Marion and Ercel L. Barlow of
Bybee, Tennessee.
The Clerk of Superior Court has many
complex and diverse responsibilities and the clerk must
know and comply with the many laws and record-keeping
rules that govern these responsibilities. The most important
role of the clerk is that of judge. The clerk is the probate
judge and is also the judge in more than 40 different
special proceedings, ie., adoptions, incompetently hearings,
etc., and in many other civil and criminal matters. Other
responsibilities of the clerk include clerical, administrative
and comptroller responsibilities.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
Susie Sharp, said the of clerk's responsibilities, "...the
clerk needs to have the skills of a lawyer, judge, administrator,
investment banker, counselor, accountant, archivist, manager,
planner, and diplomat."
Mrs. Williams said, "I believe that,
through my experience, enhanced by my education, I have
the skills enumerated by the former Chief Justice as is
evidenced by the fact that the McDowell County clerk's
office is considered by many to be 'one of the best in
the state.' I will continue to execute the duties of the
clerk without prejudice or partiality, to the best of
my skill and ability, and consistent with the law. I will
maintain a good reputation of the McDowell County clerk's
office, and I will continue to seek implementation of
methods to enhance efficient service in the office as
caseload increases substantially each year. I want the
citizens of McDowell County to be proud of their clerk's
office."
|
