City Clerk Kathy Scott Achieves CMC Certification

GREENFIELD – Greenfield City Clerk Kathy Scott recently received her Certified Municipal Clerk designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. This recognition follows years of work and preparation for Scott, who participated in the international educational program that supports and instructs clerks in management and a wide spectrum of clerk responsibilities.

The CMC process includes rigorous courses designed to promote a mastery of administrative skills critical to municipal government. To earn CMC certification, municipal clerks attend extensive education programs that prepare applicants to meet the complex challenges that clerks face on a day-to-day basis. Applicants must also possess pertinent experience working within a municipality.

During her time in the program, Scott’s efforts to obtain this milestone were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Scott balanced participating in CMC classes while managing the City Clerk's Office under the pandemic’s arduous conditions.

“What should have been a three-year process turned into a five-year process, as there was no in-person training in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Scott. My first year was in 2019, and our class had 29 members, including myself. When we returned in 2022 for our second year, we had dwindled to 14 members. The reduction in members occurred for a few reasons. Some members chose to move into new careers. Working in a Municipal Clerk's Office during COVID was exceptionally stressful, and some who were further along in their career chose to pursue online classes to obtain their designation.”

Scott is one of 106 clerks who have achieved CMC Certification in Massachusetts. She describes achieving CMC status as the culmination of a long-term goal.

“Obtaining the designation of CMC was a goal I set for myself when I became City Clerk in July 2018 and I am very proud of myself for keeping focus and achieving the designation,” added Scott. “The three-year, weeklong training is intense, exhausting, rewarding and you make invaluable connections with others in the clerks' community.”