{"id":104298,"date":"2018-06-30T08:08:48","date_gmt":"2018-06-30T13:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=104298"},"modified":"2018-07-02T07:29:49","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T12:29:49","slug":"convoy-clerk-vicky-saylor-retires-after-28-years-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/06\/30\/convoy-clerk-vicky-saylor-retires-after-28-years-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Convoy clerk Vicki Saylor retires Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the summer of 1990 and Vicki Saylor had recently lost her clerk\u2019s job at a local grocery when the owners decided to close the business.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Retiring Convoy Village Clerk-Treasurer Vicky Saylor chats with local attorney Dillon Staas during a reception held Friday in the village offices.<\/strong> Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s when then-Convoy mayor Tom Nelson approached her about a new job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was sitting on my porch one day and the mayor at that time, Tom Nelson, came to my house and asked me if I was interested in becoming the clerk for the village,\u201d Saylor said, adding she was a bit leery at the time, since she had always worked in retail.<\/p>\n

Sensing that she was less than enthused about the job, Nelson asked her to contact a former clerk, Cathy Drake, who could give her more information about the job.<\/p>\n

After hearing about the duties from Drake, Saylor decided it was something she was interested in doing after all.<\/p>\n

Six mayors and 28 years later, Saylor is retiring from the job she has grown to enjoy, and even love.<\/p>\n

She said the job itself has changed a lot since she first began on August 1, 1990, noting that everything was done on paper in those days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that was on the computer was the water bills,\u201d Saylor said, noting that she had to keep four major ledgers for the village in which she posted payments or receipts. She was also the steward for all the deposits for the village, and did the village payroll.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of room for error, when you\u2019re transferring a number four times,\u201d she said of the four-ledger system, noting she also took income tax payments as well. \u201cIt was enough to keep me busy; when I look back, I think \u2018how did I do that all on paper?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While today\u2019s village office is totally computerized, Saylor said it\u2019s also much more complex than it was 28 years ago, with the clerk\u2019s office also having to administer street projects and many other village financial activities, including a much more complex payroll system than the one she started with more than a quarter century ago.<\/p>\n

Armed with just a high school diploma and no special training, Saylor said that, while she participated in one training session in Columbus after becoming clerk, she has learned far more from talking to other village clerks in the county over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou become really good friends because the things you\u2019re communicating are the things you\u2019re doing every day,\u201d Saylor said of her conversations with other local village clerks.<\/p>\n

She added that a state requirement to complete eight hours of continuing education each year has also helped her keep current on state requirements and changes.<\/p>\n

The thing Saylor said she\u2019ll miss the most are the people who come in to pay their utility payments — and also to visit a bit.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Retiring Convoy village clerk Vicky Saylor with her husband, Mike.<\/strong> Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ll miss the most is the people coming in, and everybody always had stories to tell — great conversations,\u201d Saylor said. \u201cThese people who come into this office to pay their water bills are my friends; I see them every month.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of those friends came by on Friday to say good-bye and reminisce about the past 28 years.<\/p>\n

With Saylor leaving Friday, her replacement as clerk, Bobbie Jo Yocum, has been working hard since mid-March to learn the myriad duties of the job and provide a smooth transition for village residents.<\/p>\n

Yocum, who said learning a new job can be overwhelming at first, added that she was impressed with the job Saylor did, adding that her predecessor did a lot more than most people realize.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got big shoes to fill,\u201d she said, but noted that Saylor has been generous with her time to help Yocum learn her new position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to get with her every minute that I can, because I need it,\u201d Yocum added, noting that Saylor has been great to work with, and just a phone call away, at least for a while, if she has questions.<\/p>\n

Saylor noted that, while she thoroughly enjoyed her village clerk\u2019s job, it was time to retire — especially since she and her husband, Mike, have had some health issues the past few years.<\/p>\n

Now she and her husband, who also retired 18 months ago, plan to enjoy life a bit, do a little traveling, and spend more time with their grandchildren.<\/p>\n

To most village residents, Saylor’s retirement is likely a well-earned rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor It was the summer of 1990 and Vicki Saylor had recently lost her clerk\u2019s job at a local grocery when the owners decided to close the business. That\u2019s when then-Convoy mayor Tom Nelson approached her about a new job. \u201cI was sitting on my porch one day and the mayor at that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 19:35:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}