[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8741]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING CARMELLA SABAUGH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2017

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my gratitude to 
Carmella Sabaugh, who retired from her position as Macomb County Clerk 
at the beginning of this year. This week she is being honored for her 
40 years of distinguished public service.
  Carmella Sabaugh began her public career in 1975, when as a young 
mother of 5 children she was elected to the Warren City Council. She 
was elected as Warren City Clerk in 1979, a position she held for 11 
years, and in 1992, she was elected as Macomb County Clerk. She was 
subsequently re-elected as County Clerk five times, and chose not to 
run again in 2016.
  As Macomb County Clerk, Carmella was singularly focused on providing 
model customer service, and worked with her office's team of committed 
public employees to introduce innovations which made citizens' 
interactions with the Clerk's office as simple as possible. During 
Carmella's 24 years as Clerk, her office received 65 Achievement Awards 
from the National Association of Counties (NACo). These awards 
highlight innovative programs instituted at the local level, and the 
programs are shared with clerks around the country as models they can 
look to as they seek to improve their own operations.
  Among her many accomplishments, Carmella and her team made it easier 
for people to register and exercise their right to vote, created 
programs to help prevent real estate and other fraud, brought 
innovations to the operation of the jury room at the Macomb County 
Circuit Court, and created county photo ID cards for veterans and a 
program to help veteran's survivors access benefits. And over the 
years, as new technology and other ways to improve the operation of the 
Clerk's office became available, Carmella made sure that her office 
never stopped innovating. Two examples related to awards the Clerk's 
office received from NACo help to illustrate Carmella's commitment to 
using new advances to modernize her office, even if that advance 
replaced something which just a few years earlier had been recognized 
as a best practice. In 2010, the County Clerk's office received an 
award for providing jurors waiting to be called for duty to receive 
pagers so that they could be notified that they were due in court. In 
2016, the office received an award for using text messages to do the 
same thing. And in 2005, the Macomb County Clerk's office was 
recognized for providing free bus rides to jurors, while in 2016, they 
received an award for providing jurors with Uber rides to the court.
  Those who know Carmella Sabaugh well, as I do, know that her 
excellence in public service is matched by the quality of her 
friendship. In the many years I have known her, I have deeply 
appreciated her warmth, kindness, and generosity of spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, Carmella Sabaugh provided the people of Macomb County 
with truly outstanding service for 40 years. I encourage my colleagues 
to join me in expressing deep appreciation for all she has done, and in 
wishing her well in retirement.

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