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| County Clerk Honored At Retirement Reception |
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| News - Miami County News | |||
| Written by Robin Hixson | |||
| Wednesday, 14 January 2009 08:00 | |||
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Secretary of State Ron Thornburg joined a crowd of well-wishers Friday as they honored retiring County Clerk and Election Officer Kathy Peckman. Co-workers came up with the pool party theme, based on Peckman’s regular end-of-day announcement, “Everybody out of the pool.” County Commission Chairman Jim Wise presented Peckman with a plaque, commending her for her knowledge and commitment to the people of Miami County.  “Since I’ve been on the commission, if you had a question, you could go to Kathy and get the answer, and it would be a good one,” Wise said. County Clerk-elect Janet White, who has served as a deputy county clerk under Peckman, said she agrees with Wise. “The thing about Kathy is, if she didn’t know the answer, she knew who to talk to to find out,” White said. “She’s an awesome lady. We’ll miss her.” In a poem, White referred to the many duties for which the county clerk is responsible and Peckman’s ability to “implement them and keep them straight.” During her time in office, Peckman implemented new software and worked toward better efficiency and economy in county government. She strived to improve inter-departmental cooperation and found a way to save Miami Countians money in long distance charges on calls to county offices. She coordinated a microfilming grant through the Kansas Historical Society to film records of the district court, the Register of Deeds and the County Clerk’s office. In addition, she worked with area telecommunications vendors to bring the Internet to Miami County. She also implemented a fire evacuation plan for the courthouse. Not only has Peckman handled a myriad of duties on a county level, she has worked on various state-level committees as well. In 1995 and 1996, she served as president of the Southeast Region Clerks, she chaired the Geographic Information Systems/Information Committee for Kansas from 1995 to 1997. In 1996, Gov. Bill Graves appointed Peckman to the GIS Policy Board, which saved Miami County about $16,000. That year, the Kansas chief information officer also appointed Peckman to help create and implement the State Information Management Plan. In 1998, she helped formulate of the State GIS Policy Board Information Management Plan, again appointed by the state CIO, and she directed the education program for Kansas Association of Counties. Peckman was the first of four Master County Clerks in the state in 1999 and was vice chair of the state GIS/Information Committee in 1999-2000. Peckman was also the first chairperson of the Miami County Intergovernmental Council. Over the years, Thornburgh has called on Peckman to help develop and implement the Election Voting Information System and the Help America Vote Act in Kansas. She also implemented touch-screen voting in Miami County along with training and marketing to the public and facilitating public feedback on the new voting equipment. She won the National Association of Secretaries State medallion Award in 2007 for her HAVA and ELVIS work. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appointed Peckman to the Kansas Historical Records Advisory Board, which advises the federal government on its grants, and the state clerks’ association has asked her to continue after her retirement. As White pointed out, Peckman’s list of accomplishments goes on and on. Peckman has been working to document information on Miami County cemeteries online, and she said she plans to continue that work after her retirement. Asked what she will miss most about her position as county clerk, she said, “People. Getting into a problem and solving it is satisfying, but it’s really the people I’ll miss the most.”
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