By Abigail W. Adams
Alna Deputy Town Clerk Judy Greenleaf holds a plaque from Alna’s flagpole dedication at the Alna town office Tuesday, Dec. 9. Greenleaf will retire at the end of December. (Abigail Adams photo) |
“I’m just an old country girl with not much on my résumé,” Judy Greenleaf said. “You can quote me on that.”
What Greenleaf does have on her résumé is almost 20 years of service to the town of Alna as town clerk and deputy town clerk. At the end of December, Greenleaf will
officially retire.
Greenleaf was raised in Alna and attended all three of the town’s wooden schools. She graduated from Wiscasset High School in 1965 and later that year married and
started her family. Her service to Alna began in 1989. She worked as deputy town clerk for one year and then assumed the position of town clerk.
For 12 years, Greenleaf handled licensing requests, prepared town reports, and fulfilled other administrative functions that helped Alna operate. She was there when
the Alna town office was located at the Puddle Duck School. She was there when the town office moved to its current location across from the fire department on Alna Road.
Greenleaf left her position in 2001 following shoulder surgery. She pursued a career as a personal care attendant for the elderly. However, in 2008, the Alna town
office needed help after a former deputy town clerk was fired following a guilty plea to charges of negotiating a worthless instrument.
Greenleaf was there to help pick up the pieces. Her work following the 2008 deputy town clerk debacle was as a volunteer. However, Billie Willard, first selectman at
the time, encouraged her to apply for the position. Town Clerk Amy Warner made the decision to hire Greenleaf as her deputy.
“It was important to me to hire someone who knew the people in town and had some experience,” Warner said. “It was a no-brainer to hire her as deputy.”
In 2008, Greenleaf officially returned to the Alna town office as deputy town clerk. She was responsible for the licensing of ATVs, snowmobiles, boats, cars, and
trucks. She also helps keep track of license plates, registration stickers, and cash sheets. “It’s hard to think about what you do when you do so much,” Greenleaf said.
Greenleaf is leaving a lot that she loves when she retires from her position. “I’m going to miss all of it,” Greenleaf said. “There’s not one thing that stands out
from another. I love the job. I love working with the people.”
Working with Warner has been one of her favorite parts of the new old position, Greenleaf said. “She’s a 31-year-old telling a 68-year-old what to do,” Greenleaf
said. “She’s fantastic. She’s a great town clerk and she’s got this town’s back like you wouldn’t believe.”
Alna will miss Greenleaf equally as much. Warner said her relationship with Greenleaf extends well beyond their roles of clerk and deputy clerk. “Her motherly advice
to me and support has always been welcome personally and professionally,” Warner said. “After six years of working together, I’ll miss her smiling face and helpful and upbeat
attitude. When I hired her I never expected to have another ‘mother’ but it just seemed to work out that way.”
First Selectman David Abbott and Greenleaf have a long history. They were both born at a Damariscotta hospital on the same day and both have worked as public
servants for Alna throughout their lives. Abbott said he and Judy like to exchange jabs about how old the other is getting.
“She’s always been very dependable and honest,” Abbott said. “She’s friendly, easy to get along with, and she’s always willing to help out when she’s needed. She’s
going to be missed by all of us.”
Greenleaf plans to continue to help out where she’s needed, even after retirement. She will help train Alna’s new deputy town clerk to ensure the individual filling
her shoes is successful.
She also plans to volunteer with the American Legion Post 54, where she is a member; and with her church, the Wiscasset Church of the Nazarene; in addition to other
places where she can lend a hand.
She will still pen the Alna column in The Lincoln County News. She would like to revisit Florida, where she spent time as a child. However, spending time with
her three children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren is her top priority, Greenleaf said.
“I’m happy with my life,” Greenleaf said. “There’s nothing too radical that I want to do. I enjoy the life I have.”
