Clerk Spotlight: Barry Baker
Monday, June 26, 2023
About Barry Baker
President-Elect Barr y Baker’s journey to becoming Suwannee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller started at the end of another wild adventure: a flight back from the Amazon Jungle and Northwest Brazil in 2008. His decision was bolstered by his desire to further serve his community. He has always enjoyed interacting with residents and helping people on a one-on-one basis.
Clerk Baker was elected as Clerk and Comptroller of Suwannee County in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, 2016, and 2020. Before his election, Clerk Baker served as County Commissioner which helped prepare him for the role, but what prepared him most was his faith, his family, and the lessons learned from working as a pine tree farmer.
During the 2023 FCCC Summer Conference Annual Banquet, Clerk Baker shared his inspiration for his presidential theme for the upcoming year – Growing Together: Firmly Rooted, Growing Strong, Sowing the Seed. His theme was influenced by the structural integrity and life cycle of a pine tree. Clerk Baker explained Clerk Offices should focus on strengthening themselves at every level, every department should help fortify the other, and training newcomers should be paramount to ensure a strong foundation for the future.
By showing the same attention to state partnerships, Clerks can further strengthen their communities through collaboration. His good friend Buddy Irby once said, “It doesn't matter who gets the credit as long as the job gets done.” Clerk Baker has held to that idea ever since and strives to build bridges with other agencies and other Clerks throughout his tenure.
Clerk Baker is working hard to create more convenience and provide excellent customer service to Suwannee County. He has recently installed a new public records request program called Freshdesk, created a Facebook page for his office, started updating his Fraud Alert system, and is currently in the midst of a finance software conversion. He hopes to finalize the updates to the Fraud Alert system and finish his finance software conversion by the end of 2023.
Outside of work, Clerk Baker is a long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Live Oak. He and his wife Monica have been married for almost 33 years, and she is still the twinkle in his eye. Together, they have four children and two grandkids whom he loves to spend time with. Staying true to his pine-tree-inspired presidential theme, Clerk Baker also loves to mentor kids and young adults as well as farm, garden, and hunt. |
|
Suwannee County - Population: 45,463
- Judicial Circuit: 3rd
- FCCC District: District II
|
|
|
|
Print Page
Email to a Friend