Steimel welcomes state’s county clerks for meeting
Holmes County Clerk of Courts Ronda Steimel, right, expresses her gratitude to the many Ohio clerks who attended the annual Ohio Clerk of Courts meeting at Berlin Grande Hotel the week of July 14-19. It was the first time Holmes County has hosted the event and Steimel made sure all those in attendance experienced all Holmes County has to offer.
The task of performing everything that comes with the job of performing as a county clerk of courts can be demanding, so when Ohio’s 88-county clerk of courts have a chance to get together and glean from one another, they enjoy the opportunity.
On the week of June 14-19, almost all of Ohio’s clerk of court representatives converged on Amish Country to participate in the annual Ohio Clerk of Courts Association summer gathering that centered around Berlin Grande Hotel.
According to Holmes County Clerk of Courts Ronda Steimel, this marks the first time that this event has ever been staged in Holmes County, and she was more than eager to showcase the myriad of interesting and enjoyable features that make Holmes County one of the state’s top destinations.
“Unfortunately, we were slated to host this event last year, but it got wiped away obviously from COVID,” Steimel said. “We are very grateful that the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association wanted to come here enough that they allowed us to host this year instead.”
The event focused on business meetings that allowed the clerks to connect and talk about different topics pertinent to their jobs. Attorney Thomas White was the keynote speaker for the meeting, while Mark Leininger, Holmes County director of economic development, provided the opening remarks for the event.
While work was a focal point, the week-long schedule also allowed the clerks to relax and take in the many sights and sounds of Holmes County. Featured as part of the week were a pair of tours that took the clerks all over the county, where they saw everything from cheese houses and chocolate companies to candle making, a broom-making factory and wineries, plus a whole lot more — including stepping just over the county line into Sugarcreek, where the entire group gathered for a photo opportunity at the giant cuckoo clock in Little Switzerland.
“I was so excited to be able to create a package of stops on the tours that featured many of the great places we have here in Holmes County,” Steimel said. “We are very fortunate that so many businesses are willing to showcase their wares and products and that we have such an incredible variety to offer. That allows us to provide plenty of information about the county.”
Another nice aspect of the meeting was that most of the clerks had not seen each other in person for nearly two years due to the pandemic shutting life down for so long. Steimel said having time to rekindle relationships was a big part of the event.
While the group does provide educational opportunities online every month, Steimel said having those face-to-face conversations with experienced clerks willing to share their knowledge is where she has learned the most.
“There are probably 88 ways of doing things, so it is important that we connect and learn from one another,” Steimel said. “It’s great to see what other procedures look like and how we can implement them into our own counties.”
Steimel was actually in preparation to host the event last year and had much of the week-long activities in place before it was canceled just six weeks out. That was heart-wrenching for all of the clerks.
“This has been two years in the making, and we are all very excited to be able to finally come to Holmes County and experience everything the county has to offer,” said Ohio Clerk of Courts Association president Cindy Bailey from Clinton County.
Bailey actually became the first clerk to ever serve in the position two consecutive years because of the pandemic.
With many activities, including a door decoration contest for their hotel rooms, the clerks took every opportunity to make the event both educational and enjoyable.
“We missed this event so much last year. It is obviously a great time for us to reconnect with one another, but it is also a wonderful educational experience to continue to learn how to better run our offices,” Bailey said. “We learn so much from each other, plus we always like to have fun. This is like a family to us.”
“We were so excited to have the opportunity to come to Holmes County for this event,” said Ann Dunbar, clerk of courts in Wyandot County. “Ronda is such a sweetheart and she has done an amazing job of putting everything together to make this an enjoyable experience for all of us.”
In addition to the work and the relaxation that takes place during the week, Steimel said the association allows her to choose a charity to which the proceeds from the auction featuring items representing counties from around the state would go.
Steimel chose Friends and Neighbors of Holmes County of One-Eighty.
“I was very honored and excited to select that organization because of the incredible work they do in our county,” Steimel said.
She added that simply being given the honor of hosting this large event and allowing Holmes County to shine made all of the hard work well worth the effort.