The Town Clerk and Town Manager of Orchid were the center of attention at the start of the recent Town Council meeting held on April 29. Jane Garcia and Cherry Stowe both earned their Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) designations in recent months and the Council hosted a "pinning ceremony" to mark the achievement. The President of the Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC), Patricia Burke, was in attendance to perform the actual pinning. Indian River Shores Town Clerk Janice Rutan, Fellsmere City Clerk Maria Suarez-Sanchez and Sebastian City Clerk Jeanette Williams joined in celebrating the special occasion.
The MMC is the second and most advanced of two professional designations granted by the International Institute for Municipal Clerks (IIMC); both recipients in the Town of Orchid previously already earned their Certified Municipal Clerk designations (CMC). The MMC trajectory is a continuing education program, which prepares participants to perform complex municipal duties. The program has an extensive and rigorous educational component as well as a professional contribution component. The MMC applicant must demonstrate that they have actively pursued education and professional activities in order to “graduate” from the years-long program.
Ms. Garcia earned her CMC in New Hampshire and then enrolled in the MMC program, while serving as the elected Town Clerk for Hampton. She picked up the program again shortly upon starting as the Town Clerk for Orchid in 2024. Ms. Stowe earned her CMC as Town Clerk for Orchid and enrolled in the MMC program thereafter, which she continued even after her promotion to Town Manager for Orchid, because of the program’s great professional value and the manner in which it can be tailored to suit the professional interests and goals of each participant.
Ms. Burke shared with the Town Council that the MMC designation is quite rare, with only 1,477 active MMCs in the U.S.A. presently. Florida is the second most prolific in this regard with 169 current MMCs throughout the State, several of whom work right here in Indian River County – Orchid now included! The overall, international, membership of the IIMC is over 15,000 members. She emphasized the professionalism and dedication it takes to reach this upper echelon in local government and congratulated the Town Council for having two remarkable individuals on its small staff at Town Hall. She happily noted this was her first "double pinning"!
Mayor Gibbons thanked Ms. Burke and agreed that the Town of Orchid is very fortunate to have Ms. Stowe and Ms. Garcia at the helm. He thanked both pin recipients for their ongoing engagement with educational opportunities, realizing that the field of local government is continually and ever more in flux with the passage of new laws directly affecting operations. Especially in the Town of Orchid, which must follow all the same requirements as much larger governmental entities, it is vitally important that staff has broad knowledge and ability across a variety of disciplines. He was joined by his fellow Councilmembers and others in attendance in heartily congratulating Orchid's MMC holders.
