A house RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND the honorable BEULAH G. ROBERTS, CLERK OF COURT FOR CLARENDON COUNTY, AND TO congratulate her for being named courts Official of the year for her more than thirty-eight YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Beulah Roberts will receive the Courts Official of the Year award for more than thirty-eight years of selfless service to Clarendon County at the 5th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon from the Law Enforcement Class at F.E. DuBose Career Center on Friday, May 10, 2024; and

Whereas, a lifelong resident of Clarendon County, Mrs. Roberts is the daughter of the late Johnny Andrew and Bessie Gamble Gordon and a 1969 graduate of the Old Manning Training High School. She earned a certificate of business, typing, and key punch from Columbia Business School in 1971 and attended off-campus courses in office procedures from the University of South Carolina; and

Whereas, Mrs. Roberts was appointed the first black and first female clerk of court for Clarendon County by the governor in 1995 and has run seven unopposed elections for the office. She was the first black countywide elected official; and

Whereas, dedicated to her community, Mrs. Roberts served thirty-seven years on the Clarendon Behavioral Health Services Board and three years as its chair. She was the chair of Black River Healthcare, Inc., board for three years from 1998 to 2001 and served as secretary for the Clarendon County Ed Foundation for the past twenty-five years. She is a member of the Manning Branch of the NAACP and of the National Association of Professional Women; and

Whereas, for the past nineteen years, she has served as chairman of the Advisory Committee of the South Carolina Association of Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds. She served as the president of the association from 2004 to 2006, and she was instrumental, along with three other clerks of court and the South Carolina Court Administration the Clerks and Registers of Deeds offices, in producing the rules and procedures manual that serves as the operating rules for all forty-six counties in the State. She has taught orientation classes to new clerks of court, new judges, and new law clerks; and

Whereas, Mrs. Roberts' office was the pilot for the new electronic filing system for the State of South Carolina. She presently serves under Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty on his new statewide case management system, which is the indexing system for the entire State, motions and general sessions docketing committee, FCCMS family court advisory committee, judicial technology committee, and electronic filing committee for the family court system for the State; and

Whereas, her stellar contributions have been honored with the 1992 County Attitude Award, the 1997 Dedicated Service Award from the Manning Branch of the NAACP Youth Council, the 1999 Honor Award from the South Carolina House of Representatives, the 2004 Manning Branch of the NAACP Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Clarendon County Behavioral Health Services Silver Mace Award, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Manning Branch of the NAACP March 2023; and

Whereas, a member of the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, Mrs. Roberts serves as superintendent of the Sunday school, Sunday school teacher, Bible Study instructor, and member of the Deaconess Board. She sings with the adult and mass choirs and has won numerous church awards.  She has been married to her beloved Reverend Joe L. Roberts of Martinez, Georgia, for fifty-three years; and

Whereas, grateful for her years of exceptional service to Clarendon County, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes pleasure in extending best wishes to Beulah Roberts for many years of enjoyment in the unhurried pace of her richly deserved retirement. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and commend the Honorable Beulah G. Roberts, Clerk of Court of Clarendon County, and congratulate her for being named Courts Official of the Year for her more than thirty-eight years of exemplary service.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Honorable Beulah G. Roberts.

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