Orangeburg County’s new Clerk of Court Winnifa Clark says providing excellent customer service is her top priority.

The Holly Hill native took office on Tuesday. Clark says so far, so good.

“I’m enjoying it. It is a lot of work ahead of me,” she said.

Clark said her first challenge will be improving efficiency at the clerk’s office, a task she sees beginning with three words: “Organization! Organization! Organization!”

That might prove difficult considering the entire office is currently being renovated, but Clark said the team is adjusting accordingly.

While Clark is unsure when the aesthetic upgrades will finish, she said the process to make her office more customer orientated begins now.

She wants to implement a credit card payment system on the Web so people can pay their fees from home. However, Clark said a superb customer experience starts with the people in her office.

She wants her employees to harmonize, operating efficiently and being professional at all times.

Clark also said she will have an open-door policy.

“I’m going to make sure, to the best of my ability, that everybody is satisfied. I want people to leave out of this office happy,” she said.

Clark also desires to create a program where troubled teens can work at the clerk’s office during the summer. She said that opportunity could help with teens’ behavioral problems and boost their morale.

A self-described people person, Clark plans to bring her interpersonal skills to the job.

“I like dealing with people. So, I consider myself likeable and just concerned with people,” she said.

However, Clark admits she is shy about giving interviews. But she is anything but shy at her other job as pastor at the Shepherd Outreach Ministry Church in Vance.

Her pastoral roots were evident when she passionately spoke at the NAACP local candidates forum last summer. Clark’s strong persona at the event resonated with the voters who chose her over nine-year incumbent Lisa Mizell.

Clark had served in the clerk’s office for 17 years, spending eight of them as the deputy clerk of court. She resigned in late 2007 to challenge Mizell in last year’s Democratic primary. She has been a pastor for 13 years.

She believes those experiences will translate into a successful tenure.

In addition, she thinks her faith in God will also be helpful in executing her duties. “It’s going to keep me strong. It will help me show the citizens of Orangeburg County the love and respect they so richly deserve,” she said.

The clerk of court is responsible for accepting and processing all paperwork concerning the Court of General Sessions, Court of Common Pleas and Family Court.

Clark graduated from Holly Hill-Roberts High School. She received her associate’s degree in business administration from Rutledge College in Charleston.

She is married with two children.

n T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-534-1060. Comment on this and other stories at www.TheTandD.com.

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