Lowry Letter (2)
TOWN CLERK
Chris Masterson
TOWN OF WAPPINGER
20 MlDDLEBUSH ROAD
WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY 12590
WWW.TOWNOFWAPPlNGER.US
(845) 297-4158 - Main
(845) 297-5771 - Direct
(845) 298-1478 - Fax
TOWN SUPERVISOR
Christopher 1. Colsey
TOWN BOARD
William H. Beale
Vincent Bettina
Ismay Czarniecki
Joseph P. Paoloni
Office of the Town Clerk
July 21, 2011
David Lowry, CRM - Manager of Records Advisory Services
New York State Archives
9A47 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Dear Mr. Lowry:
I was appointed to the position of Town Clerk on June 6th, 2005. The
outgoing Town Clerk had fallen quite ill immediately following her
departure. Therefore, there was very little transfer of knowledge from her
tenure to mine. Over the first few months, I found that the duties of Town
Clerk are numerous and wide-ranging. Many of these tasks were simple and
easy to master. However, the door marked "Records Management" opened up
to reveal a vast world of confusing concepts and responsibilities. Luckily, I
uncovered a memo, written by a Mr. David Lowry, which lit a guiding light to
get me started as a Records Management Officer. This memo introduced me
to the idea of a Regional Advisory Officer. My RAO, and my illustrious trail
guide for the next 6+ years, was Linda Bull.
Linda immediately struck me as not only extremely knowledgeable
and helpful, but also a kind and friendly mentor. The first few years as RMO
were peppered with as many records management classes as I could possibly
fit in. It seemed as if any time that I could muster up free-time away from
the office, I could also find Linda leading a seminar somewhere in the Hudson
Valley. Even those classes that I attended more than once were informative
and worthwhile. Once I had a firm grasp of the concepts, and with the
continued support and advice from Linda, I began the Town of Wappinger's
first legitimate Records Management Program.
Linda was instrumental in every aspect of our development. My office
finally had a full and accurate inventory of paper records. With Linda's help,
we took it a step further and assigned MU -I schedule item numbers to each
subject file. Any time that I had trouble finding an appropriate record series,
Linda not only found a suitable series, but also explained why it was suitable.
As a logical next step, Linda assisted us in implementing an annual Records
Disposition Day. Our first disposition resulted in over 150 cubic feet of
records properly destroyed and documented.
Beginning in late 2005/early 2006, my office implemented a scanning
station, utilizing the Laserfiche software package. Linda helped me to
determine which records would be ideal to start with and why the scanning of
other records would be futile. With well over a quarter of a million pages now
housed in our digital repository, in an orderly and easily-navigable layout,
Town of Wappinger residents have immediate access to historical records
from the comfort of their own home. We are also able to respond to many
FOIL requests much quicker than we would have been able to just a few
short years ago.
With a solid inventory conducted, a routine of disposition in place and
a work-flow routine that includes the scanning of records, we have achieved a
near-paperless office. If you were to visit the Town of Wappinger, you would
see that there is not one single filing cabinet on my office floor. Linda has
even worked with us to ensure our digital records are safe, sound and backed-
up on a regular basis. Hopefully, the next Town Clerk will reach out to Linda
and expand our success to other Town of Wappinger departments.
Linda has done such a fantastic job teaching me the fundamentals of
records management, that I find myself now fielding day-to-day questions
from fellow Town Clerks across Dutchess County. I've been a guest speaker
at Laserfiche user group meetings. I served as a member of the Region 9
Regional Advisory Committee. I wouldn't go so far to claim to be a records
expert. However, I feel confident that I have succeeded in carrying out the
duties and responsibilities expected of the State Archives and the residents of
the Town of Wappinger. Without the ceaseless guidance from my RAO,
Linda Bull, I may never have stepped through that door.
Having decided to not seek another term as Town Clerk, I find myself
with less than six months left to tie up loose ends. I am proud to see the
difference in our Records Management Program from 6/6/05 to 6/6/11. And as
I prepare, with trepidation, to hand over the keys to the vault to a new Town
Clerk, I find comfort in the fact that Linda Bull will be standing at the ready,
willing to take my successor under her wing.
I thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I trust that you will
forward my sincere thanks and appreciation to any parties within New York
State Archives that would be interested to hear feedback about their agents
in the field.
Sincerely,
ris Masterson
own Clerk/Records Management Officer
Town of Wappinger
