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The Candidate

Name

Sonya Diane Spry

Age

50

Address

County Line Road, Harmony

Family

Parents, Norman and Louise Spry; son, Alan Spry; grandson, Ryan Spry; fiance, Carl Reavis Jr.

Education

William R. Davie Elementary, North Davie Jr. High, Davie High School 1989 graduate; Mitchell Community College, 1997 graduate with associate degree in criminal justice

Occupation

Davidson County Clerk of Court Office as Deputy Clerk since 2019, in criminal division setting up e-citations for law enforcement; work in district courts filing judgments; truancy clerk; other duties. Also pharmacy tech at Foster Drug of Mocksville, there 15 years

In The Community

• Liberty Wesleyan Church, Harmony

Why did you decide to seek public office?

Spry: I am seeking the position of Davie County Clerk of Court because I feel that I can make a difference. I started working for the Davie County Clerk of Court Office in November of 1997. I learned a lot of how this office operates under Kenneth Boger. I know the ins and outs of this office. The Clerk of Court office has a lot of divisions to include Bookkeeping, Child Support, Civil Division, Criminal Division, Juvenile Division, and Estates. I can do all of the courts which include Administrative Court (traffic court), District Criminal Court, Superior Criminal Court, Civil District Court, Civil Superior Court, Juvenile Court which includes Abused/Neglected/Dependency and Undisciplined/Delinquent Juveniles, Truance Court, Child Support Court, and DWI Court. I also have knowledge of Adoptions and Estates. I can also do Special Proceedings to include involuntary Commitments. I feel that there are a lot of opportunities to help all of these divisions and with the right people and sources it can be done. I am also familiar and have worked with the Jury system to pull panels and sent out notices to the selected jurors.

What professional or life experiences qualifies you to be Clerk of Court?

Spry: I have 20 years with the Clerk of Court office. This includes Davie and Davidson Counties. I have worked for the NC Department of Corrections, Davie County Clerk of Court, Juvenile Justice, District Attorney Office, and am currently employed with the Davidson County Clerk of Court office. I have learned a lot from working in a larger county that if elected I can bring to the Davie County Clerk of Court office and implement. Davie County is a smaller office but could have new procedures put in place. I have attended a lot of classes to better familiarize myself with over my 20 plus years service. In June of 2019, I was selected along with another coworker to attend the National Institute of Crime Prevention in Advanced Domestic Violence in Las Vegas, Nev., where I received a certificate of completion. In August of 2021, I attended the Assistant/Deputy Clerk of Court Conference in Wilmington, NC, and attended Estate classes to familiarize myself better on estates. In September of 2021, I was selected along with another coworker to attend the NC Sheriff’s Association Specialized Training in the Statewide Misdemeanant Confinement Annual Training in Hickory, NC, and was awarded a certificate of completion. I am very familiar with the ACIS System, CCIS System, VCAP System and the BEACON System that is used daily in the day to day functions of the Clerk Office.

What are the major responsibilities of the Clerk of Court?

Spry: The major responsibility of the Clerk of Court is to maintain all records that are filed with this office. The Clerk is responsible for the divisions of Book Keeping, Child Support, Small Claims, Civil District, Civil Superior, District Criminal, Superior Criminal, Juvenile, Special Proceedings, Adoptions and Estates. The Clerk also performs the duties of a judge of probate (ex officio) and as a judge in special proceedings. The Clerk also greets the jurors that are summoned for jury duty whether it is for Civil District/Superior Court or Criminal District/Superior Court. The Clerk goes over all details of what is expected while the jurors are there for jury duty. The clerk has Assistant and Deputy Clerks under them that has duties to perform also. The Clerk also addresses the release of seized vehicles from DWI’s and speeding cases. There is paperwork for everything. The Clerk must insure that all boxes are property marked.

Other Issues

Spry: I feel that I am the best candidate for the position of Davie County Clerk of Court because of the years of service that I can bring to the office, the knowledge that I can bring to the office and the implementation of new ideas that I have learned from a larger county. I am the only candidate that can do all courts that are conducted each day.

I want to implement cross training so that each employee can know what the others do and if a situation arises, then someone can step in and perform the duties that need to be performed and not have court cancelled.

I feel that it is imperative of a high clerk to be able to perform the duties of a courtroom clerk and I can do just that. It is also imperative that the high clerk know how to perform all duties and not disperse the duties to an Assistant or Deputy Clerk because they are not familiar with a certain duty.

I know that Davie is a small office but there is so much that this office can bring to the community as well as to each other. The office has divisions but each of the divisions can be brought together and become one. Everyone has to do their part and that requires teamwork. I know that this office has great potential because I was once a part of this and can make this office a great place for the employees, the citizens and all individuals that come into the court house. I don’t take my job lightly. I take my job seriously and if elected as the next Davie County Clerk of Court I will ensure that the oath that I take I will uphold and perform my duties to the best of my ability.
I would appreciate the vote and support of the citizens of Davie County.