FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2025

City of Morgantown Recognizes Professional Municipal Clerks Week 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A proclamation issued by the City of Morgantown on May 6, 2025, designates the week of May 4-10, 2025, as "Professional Municipal Clerks Week."

Unanimously adopted by City Council, the proclamation expresses appreciation for all municipal and deputy clerks for their dedicated service to the community. It highlights that the clerk "serves as the professional link between the citizens, local governing bodies, and agencies of government at other levels."

The proclamation was presented to Christine Wade and signed by Mayor Joe Abu-Ghannam. It also recognizes municipal and deputy clerks for "continually striving to improve the administration of their duties through participation in education programs, seminars, workshops, and annual meetings of their state, province, county, and international professional organizations."

Professional Municipal Clerks Week is sponsored by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), a professional association representing city, town, township, village, borough, deputy, and county clerks. IIMC has over 15,000 members across the United States, Australia, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and Wales.

IIMC President Lisa Garcia, MMC, Deputy Town Manager/Town Clerk for the Town of Florence, Arizona, encourages municipal and deputy clerks to highlight the importance of their roles, the impact of the municipal clerk's office on the public, and the integral historical significance of their work.

Professor William Bennett Munro, author of one of the first textbooks on municipal administration, noted, "No other office in municipal service has so many contacts. It serves the mayor, the city council, the city manager, and all administrative departments, without exception. All of them call upon it almost daily for some service or information."

The functions of the clerk require a thorough knowledge of laws, procedures, administration, and interpersonal relations. IIMC further challenges clerks to actively pursue continuing education opportunities and professional networking to "establish their proper role as a member of the municipal executive team."

Wade has served as the City of Morgantown's City Clerk and has been a member of IIMC since 2018. Nikki Lauffer recently joined the clerk's office as deputy clerk in April 2025. The City of Morgantown is grateful for their efforts and service to the community.

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