Mildred Peeler (center) was the first recipient of the SCCAG CLAT Award at the organization's recent conference at St. Simons Island. Pictured with her are Billy Jones (left), keynote speaker for the ceremony, and Barry Wilkes, chairman of the CLAT Trust. Wilkes County Clerk of Superior Court Mildred Peeler was the inaugural recipient of the CLAT achievement award given by the Superior Court Clerks' Association of Georgia (SCCAG). The presentation was made during ceremonies held April 24 on St. Simons Island in conjunction with the association's annual spring conference and mandatory training for superior court clerks.

"There is no clerk more deserving to receive the CLAT Award than the Honorable Mildred Peeler, Clerk of the Superior Court of Wilkes County. She has provided great leadership and dedication and has made many outstanding contributions to our association, the people she serves at home, and the citizens of Georgia," said F. Barry Wilkes, Clerk of the Superior Court of Liberty County and chairperson of the CLAT Trust, the organization that sponsors the award.

"In French, 'clat' means great brilliance, achievement, or performance. It also forms an acronym, with each letter standing for an attribute recipients must possess - 'exceptional commitment, leadership, achievement, and teamwork,'" Wilkes said. Presenting the award to Peeler, Wilkes cited Peeler's numerous achievements and contributions since she took office as clerk of superior court in 1997. She has held the state position of secretarytreasurer of the SCCAG since 2005. She is serving her third term on the Superior Court Clerks' Training Council and has served on various other committees throughout the years.

"First and foremost," Wilkes said, "she has been an exceptional clerk of superior court, working hard and being extremely innovative to provide the best services possible to the citizens of Wilkes County ... Lastly, she has worked long, hard hours on behalf of the superior court clerks, helping to create, edit, and compile the Superior Court Clerks' Reference Manual, a one-of-a-kind guide that helps clerks in the trenches, as they perform the intricate duties mandated by law, court rules, and prevailing judicial decisions. It's been more beneficial to superior court clerks than any other invention. It has helped to improve service delivery and record management for the courts, real estate and personal property records, and the voluminous other records of which superior court clerks serve as custodian.

"Peeler and a handful of her peers were asked to develop the reference manual eight years ago," he continued, "a challenge they accepted willingly. She and the other members of the Reference Manual Committee have worked tirelessly, without recognition - even though their accomplishments were not premised on praise - and without any compensation. The result is that clerks of superior court have the nation's only comprehensive instructional guide developed by clerks for clerks to use in the regular performance of their duties in an efficient, professionally consistent, and productive manner. It provides the answers to all our questions, in electronic format, right on our computer desktops. What an accomplishment."

Accepting the award, Peeler said, "I appreciate the citizens of Wilkes County allowing me to be their clerk of superior court. I have always taken pride in my work and strived to do my very best. I feel that all clerks should do everything possible to improve their offices and the clerks' association. I am extremely honored to be a recipient of the CLAT award. I am grateful to be one of the authors of the reference manual. It is a work in progress and we will continue to improve it."