Patton sworn in as county clerk

CODY THORN/DAILY FORUM
President 4th District Circuit Judge Roger Prokes, left, swears in Melinda Patton into her role as Nodaway County Clerk during a ceremony Monday afternoon at the Nodaway County Administration Center.

Melinda Patton officially became Nodaway County Clerk Monday afternoon at the Nodaway County Administration Center.

Presiding 4th District Circuit Judge Roger Prokes swore her into the role that she was appointed to on May 31 by Gov. Eric Greitens.

Patton becomes the third County Clerk for the county since Sept. 2015. Beth Walker resigned then and her replacement, Karen Leader, resigned this past April.

“It is a little overwhelming, but very exciting,” Patton said after her swearing-in ceremony at 1:30 p.m.

Her first official day in the office was a ‘whirlwind’ she said, from touring both the administration building and the Nodaway County Courthouse, to learning some of the duties of her new position she inherits from Lorraine O’Donnell, who has been serving as the interim clerk since Leader’s resignation.

Since clerks in Nodaway County are chosen in “off years,” that is non-presidential election years, Patton will have to run for election in Nov. 2018 to keep the clerk position for the following four years.

“That is currently the plan,” said the Republican. “I have totally thrown myself in and moved away from a job to come here and take this on.”

Patton, a native of North Bend, Nebraska, attended Northwest Missouri State University. She secured a bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked for a year at the Clarinda Herald-Journal before moving into a different field.

Patton was a customer service representative at Maryville Glass & Lock for the past nine years before Greiten’s appointment.

She previously worked as the block grant operations director at Community Services Inc., a social services agency serving lower-income families and individuals in Nodaway, Atchison, Holt, Gentry and Worth Counties.

Patton’s husband, Jeff, along with children Josie and Adam and mother-in-law Monica Patton attended the ceremony. Her middle child, Zach, couldn’t attend due to work.

After the ceremony and photos with family, Patton went back to learning her new position.

“Everybody I talked to says it takes about four years to know the whole job,” Patton said.