Oakland County, Michigan, July 8, 2009 -- Ruth Johnson, the Oakland County Clerk & Register of Deeds, honored three County employees with new STAR Achievement Awards for their exceptional service and suggestions that improve office efficiency and save tax dollars. "Our employees are hardworking, dedicated and constantly review the way we do business to make sure we are providing the best possible service at the lowest possible cost," said Johnson, who created the STAR (Serving Taxpayers & Residents) Achievement Awards. "We wanted some way to recognize employees' ingenuity, determination to improve our office and understanding that we have to be good stewards of public money. I'm very proud of them."
STAR Achievement Awards were given to:
Stephanie Schroeder, a longtime county employee and chief deputy in the Legal Division, for her suggestion for online marriage license applications. The online applications save couples a trip, including gas money and travel/parking time, to the courthouse to apply for the license. The online marriage license application, which required a change in state law, recently received national recognition. Today, more than half of the marriage license applications submitted to the Clerk's Office are submitted electronically. Schroeder lives in Troy.
Linda Nembhard, a custodian responsible for the cleaning of the Oakland County Courthouse, Linda was honored for her hard work and her honesty. Nembhard discovered an $11,000 diamond ring in one of the courthouse restrooms and promptly turned the ring in so it could be returned to its rightful owner. "That lady was only married two weeks," said Nembhard, smiling as she held her award. Nembhard, a 31-year county employee, lives in Pontiac.
Denise Bristow, the Tract Index supervisor in the Register of Deeds Office, was recognized for her exceptional customer service and for her efforts working with federal authorities to combat deed and mortgage fraud - an ever-growing white collar crime where homes are stolen "on paper" and re-mortgaged before the true owners are even aware what was happened. Bristow, a 35-year county employee, resides in Independence Township.
