Polk County’s Superior Court Clerk Stacie Baines got good news on Friday morning.
Baines’ colleagues in the 7th District – which covers a 14-county area around Northwest Georgia – voted her as the Clerk of the Year.
She found out about the honor at the same time as a second: she’s also the new chair for the 7th District organization for the rest of the Clerks this year.
“I am ecstatic to receive both honors from my peers,” Baines told Polk Today. “Not only will I continue to work for and represent Polk County, I will now be representing 13 other counties to the best of my ability.”
Baines is coming up at the end of her latest term in office leading the Clerk’s office. She’ll face election again in November for the seat should she face any opposition. She previously ran unopposed for the clerk’s seat.
During her tenure, Baines has pushed to digitize the entire collection of paperwork and improve the experience of citizens who are seeking court filings from the Clerk’s Office. Baines’ efforts to get documents online includes an ongoing effort to scan in court and deed records over the past years to preserve items that are more than a century old.
The 7th District Clerks include Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cobb, Dade, Douglas, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker and Whitfield Counties.