HONORED FOR SERVICE – Former circuit court clerk Bertha Taylor (fourth from left) is flanked by several members of the Carroll County Bar Association who feted her with a going away party Aug. 27. From left are Matt Maddox, Laura Keeton, Butch Maddox, Taylor, Bob Keeton II, Bob Keeton III and General Sessions Judge Larry Logan.
Former Carroll County circuit court clerk, Bertha Taylor, has set a record with her 41 years of working in the Carroll County courthouse.
To anyone’s knowledge, no one has worked that long in the courthouse in any position.
The Carroll County Bar Association fêted her with a going away party on Aug. 27 in the upstairs courtroom.
A large cake with the wording, “Thank You for a Lifetime of Service” was presented to her.
A number of people came by to wish her well in the future and thank her for her service to the county.
She worked for three different circuit court clerks before being elected in 2006 as circuit court clerk. She was elected three different times and served 12 years.
She began working on a part-time basis for circuit court clerk Donald Akin in 1977. In November of that year, she was hired as a full-time deputy, making her the first African-American to be hired in a county position full-time.
She also worked in the offices of circuit court clerk Richard Simmons and Paul Newmon.
She is the first African American and first woman to be elected as Carroll County circuit court clerk.
“It’s been a pleasure, honor and great opportunity for me to serve the people of Carroll County,” she said. “I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. It’s a milestone.”
