LOCAL OFFICIALS RECEIVE STATEWIDE HONORS

By DEBRA HAIGHT

Two Berrien County officials have recently received statewide honors. Sheriff Paul Bailey was elected vice president of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, while Register of Deeds Lori Jarvis was named the 2016 Register of the Year for the state of Michigan.
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Young swore Bailey in as the vice president of the association’s board of directors last month at the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association’s 2016 Fall Professional Development Conference. His term as vice president begins Jan. 1.
Bailey, an Eau Claire resident, has been a police officer for 33 years and was first elected sheriff in 2000. He is currently running for re-election to a new four year term and is being challenged by Natural Law Party candidate Rick Briand of Niles.
“There is no greater honor than to be chosen by your peers to be their leader,” Association Executive Director Terrence L. Jungel said. “Sheriff Bailey has earned the respect of his fellow Sheriffs as is evident by his selection to the Vice President’s position.”
“His leadership comes at an important time in the Association’s and state’s history as we change both the Association and national leadership,” Jungel added.
Board officers elected at the Fall Conference included President Tim Donnellon, Sheriff of St. Clair County; Vice President L. Paul Bailey, Sheriff of Berrien County; and Secretary-Treasurer Pete Wallin, Sheriff of Emmet County. Immediate Past President of the statewide association is Crawford County Sheriff Kirk Wakefield.
Other Sheriffs elected to serve on the Board include Iron County Sheriff Mark Valesano, Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki, and Midland County sheriff Scott  Stephenson.
The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association was established in 1877 to represent the state’s 83 elected Sheriffs and is the oldest Law Enforcement Organization in Michigan. People can find out more about the association including how to join as a citizen member, they can visit the www.misheriff.org website.
*********
Jarvis is no stranger to being recognized by her peers. She previously was honored as the “Register of the Year” in 2009.
The announcement for her most recent honor came at the 2016 Association of Registers of Deeds meeting held at Crystal Mountain in Benzie County, Michigan in October. Jarvis was honored by her fellow Registers of Deeds and Clerk/Registers from around the state.
The Register of Deeds office was established in the state’s first Constitution of 1835. By law, the Register of Deeds is the elected representative of the people to review and record legal documents pertaining to the transfer and encumbrance of land and property within each county-in effect, a land historian.
Jarvis has been active in the state organization since taking office in 2001. She is currently unopposed as she seeks another four-year term serving as the Berrien County Register of Deeds. She currently serves as co-chair of the Legislative Committee for the association.
“To be chosen by my peers is incredible,” Jarvis said. “The State has a tremendous cadre of Registers. They are knowledgeable of their duties and responsibilities and protective of their counties, their constituents and the people of Michigan as a whole. To have been chosen from among them is a humbling honor.”
“The past 12-14 months have been very active legislatively,” she added. “Beyond reviewing legislation that may touch our offices, we’ve been actively working with various groups on a flat fee or predictable fee structure for the recording of documents.”
“Registers, as a whole, were concerned that other groups and stakeholders, as well as our legislators might not be aware of the full ramifications of some of the language as it was drafted,” Jarvis said. “There was a lot of not only hearing what was said, but truly listening to what was said so all issues could be resolved.”
Other Registers from around the state praised Jarvis for her efforts over the years. They noted that Jarvis has been on the legislative committee for many years and has taken time out of her schedule to go to Lansing at a moment’s notice. They said she goes above and beyond for the association and has traveled the state twice to make sure that Registers in every county have been trained on new legislation.
Jarvis thanked her staff including her Chief Deputy Susan Hoffman, and deputies; Jane Chaput, Kari Carter and Sharon Holmstrom, as well as County Administrator Bill Wolf and Berrien County Commissioners who back her concerns and support her involvement.
“As for my family, I couldn’t be more blessed,” she said. “There isn’t anyone who supports me more than my husband Butch and our children, Cari, Ally and Erik – they are incredibly understanding if I need to be in Lansing for a day or am attached to my laptop, looking over and commenting on legislation or working through some issue in the office – there is no 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. as an elected official.”
To be nominated for the  2016 Register of the Year, people had to be an association member for the preceding 5 years, had not been named Register of the Year in the preceding 5 years and had made an important contribution for the betterment of the association.