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Longtime Grove Hill town employee has worked in many areas
"I started out working for the water department on June 14, 1975, filing, waiting on customers and performing other office work. My grandfather, Cecil Chapman, was the town clerk for years so it thrilled me when Alice McVay asked me to come to work here. "Now I am the court magistrate, the administrator of billing, secretary for the water board and I keep up with the reports from the police department. I wear a lot of hats. I am also working at my grandfather's desk now," Jackie smiled. She worked at the Clarke County Courthouse for a short while in the mapping and appraisal office before going to work at town hall. She has a degree in bookkeeping from Hobson State. Court work most challenging The most challenging job she has is that of court magistrate. Although she was certified as a magistrate years ago, she became the court clerk only a few weeks ago. "It's been a big responsibility. Working with the court is a challenge. Of course I've taken on a lot more. Since Edd [Stifflemire, the former town clerk who died] became ill, a lot fell back on me. Now I'm helping the new town clerk learn about the responsibilities of her job," Jackie said. Town Clerk Cheryl Hicks said, "There is no way I could do my job without her. She knows everything. Jackie has helped me a lot as magistrate. I had no knowledge of the judicial system and she took me under her wing as if she had known me all her life and trained me according to the way the job was supposed to be performed. Now she has brought her knowledge of the town, the citizens and the innerworkings of the municipality to me as town clerk. She has shared everything she knows so we can provide the services to the citizens of Grove Hill that are required of us. If she doesn't have the answer up here," she said, tapping her forehead, "then she can lay her hands on it in a matter of minutes." Jackie has worked for several mayors, including Bill Brady, Alice McVay, S. P. Hudson, Willie Welch and now Lamar Hudson. She said with each new mayor and council there are changes. "Jackie has a wealth of knowledge about the various departmental functions necessary to conduct the business of the town. This knowledge has been a great asset in the computer upgrades we have made in the fiscal processes and daily operations of Town Hall. I appreciate her willingness to learn the new software system and to share her knowledge in making the new system work for the benefit of the town," said Mayor Hudson. 'Old mother hen' She says she loves all the employees who have worked for the town through the years. One former utility worker recently introduced her to a friend as "the old mother hen." "I've loved all the people who have worked here and I've kept up with them after they left," she said. "Jackie's a better person than I am. She puts up with a lot. She's dedicated and she's seen a lot of changes that have come along and she's weathered a lot. Jackie knows everybody and she knows where to find them," laughed Grove Hill Police Officer Daniel Gibson. "She is marvelous, fantastic. As court clerk she is a wealth of knowledge and information. She is really a great source of inspiration," Helen Carter, court magistrate, said. "I love the people here. The police department, the workers, the firemen, I love it. That's the reason I've been here so long," Jackie said. She plans to work through next year's election and then she might consider retirement.
Jackie and her husband, Wayne, have two sons, Jason and Jeff and two grandchildren, Mary Ruth and Jacob. She is a member of Grove Hill United Methodist Church where she sings in the choir and serves on several committees. Her favorite pastimes are fishing and playing with her grandchildren.
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