Borough clerk wins prestigious statewide award

Nova Javier named  Alaska “Clerk of the Year.”

She’s worked with 33 assembly members, four mayors and five administrators.

 

If you don’t deal with the Kodiak Island Borough Clerk’s office you may not be familiar with Nova Javier, though she’s held the position of borough clerk the past 12 years.

Javier is responsible for keeping the business and decisions of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly in order. She’s also responsible for borough elections, among myriad other things.

Javier was recently presented with the prestigious Clerk of the Year Award by the Alaska Association of Municipal Clerks.

She said the borough clerk’s job is best described in a quote by William Bennet Monroe who said no other office of municipal service has so many contacts. It pulls together the many loose ends of borough administration.

She finished Monroe’s quote:

 

“It serves the assembly, mayor, manager, and all administrative departments without exception. All of them call on the clerk almost daily for some service or information. The clerk’s work isn’t spectacular, but it demands versatility, alertness, accuracy and no end of patience.”

 

It also requires attention to detail as a clerk’s documentation serves as the historical record for a community.

Javier said the history of municipal clerk goes as far back as the beginning of writing.

In a society where decision-makers are elected every few years, a clerk plays a vital role.

 

“We have elected officials and administrators coming and going and it is extremely important to have a clerk who will provide that continuity and stability.”

 

Javier started working for the borough clerk’s office in 2000 and worked her way up to her current position by 2006. Her corporate memory of borough and assembly actions during her nearly two decades of service provides the stability and continuity she mentioned.

          

“Personally, I am proud to say that as of this year I have worked with 33 assembly members, four mayors and five administrators. I believe being a clerk is a mighty calling. Clerks give everything they have and we reach deep within ourselves to bring out the best that we have to offer our community and our future generations.”

 

Javier said her nomination, and award, were a total surprise when it was presented to her in Anchorage on Nov. 13.