Melissa Henry
While the County Clerk of Court’s office may be a government entity, Melissa Henry does something quite unique: she runs it like a business, complete with a friendly staff who offer a friendly greeting and an eager willingness to help.
Holding the position of St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court since the summer of 2016, it was the ten years that Henry spent in the mortgage industry that first exposed her to many of the functions of the Clerk’s office. “I was doing things like recording mortgages, getting abstracts for properties, and researching land records,” she says. “The Clerk’s office seemed a natural place for me to use all of my skills and experience. I also earned my Notary Commission, which is a great asset to the Clerk’s office.”
Naturally, her job entails a great many things, as she oversees all of the various departments in the Clerk’s office, including Civil, Criminal, Elections, Finance, Human Resources, Land, Personal Documents, Recording, Records Management, and IT. She is also Secretary of the LCRAA Board, serves on the Board of Directors (1st District member) of the Louisiana Clerk’s Association, and is acting President of the St. Tammany Board of Elections—an especially important role in Presidential election years. “It’s my job to ensure that elections are safe, fair, and accurate,” explains Henry, who serves as the Parish custodian of the voting machines in addition to teaching numerous Election Commissioner and Election Specific classes each year to make sure that polls are well-staffed for local, state, and federal elections.
