Moore Government: Chancery Clerk

HALEY PAYNE ROBERTS
MCO Senior Staff Writer

County government is a crucial aspect of our ability to thrive in Lynchburg. The hardworking folks appointed and elected to Moore County’s government keep the wheels turning each year.

I find it essential to get to know them and understand where credit is due. In the coming weeks, I’d like to introduce you to the fine people who are our government officials and who have played a role in raising me.

I would be remiss if I didn’t start with the one I call “Mom.”

A Raiderette from the Moore County High School Class of 1986, Tammy Payne Roberts is still proudly referred to as No. 42, as if it were part of her proper name. A member of MCHS’s basketball team – and a fine one, at that – and a top-notch student, Roberts has always been a proud product of her homeplace.

Now, she is its Chancery Court Clerk & Master, and her years in the position have only deepened her pride in Moore County.

Before her county government career began, Roberts earned an accounting degree.

“I discovered that I didn’t really enjoy writing little numbers in little boxes,” Roberts said. “Instead, I found a part-time job in a local law office and found my calling in the legal field.”

That calling led her to earn a paralegal degree from the Southeastern Paralegal Institute at Vanderbilt University, the only program approved by the American Bar Association at the time.

Roberts then managed title insurance companies, prepared mortgage documents, and closed loans for more than six years, allowing her to travel all over Middle and East Tennessee.

“I guess the accounting degree was not in vain after all!” Roberts laughed.

After the last title company closed, she obtained a real estate license and did some freelance paralegal work.

Then came the job.

In 1998, Chancellor Tyrus H. Cobb appointed Roberts to the office of Chancery Court Clerk and Master.

“It truly was a homecoming of sorts,” she said. “I say quite frequently that if you intend on living in Lynchburg, you should leave and work somewhere else for at least two years so you will appreciate what we have here when you return.

“The work is very challenging but very rewarding,” Roberts added. “One of the best pieces of advice was given to me by an attorney many years ago. He said to be patient and listen to people.

“Whatever has brought a person into the office is the most important thing going on in their lives at that time, and sometimes they need someone to listen.

“As chancery court clerks, we are dealing with folks at some of the toughest times in their lives,” she said, “whether it is filing a probate for a loved one who has passed away or filing divorce papers, bringing an unfortunate close to a chapter in a person’s life.”

However, the job also brings quite a lot of joy.

“My office handles adoption matters as well. The judges often say that this is one of the happiest parts of their jobs,” Roberts said.

“Although these matters are confidential as far as the paperwork is concerned, the parties almost always want to have photos made with the judge to memorialize their special day.”

Roberts has been in office for 27 years, a tenure that has brought many changes as technology has advanced.

“The fax machine was still a big deal when I started. Now, we are going through the process to become an e-filing court. It seems so bizarre to me, especially since I was the last court clerk in the state of Tennessee to be computerized,” she said.

“I was asked by someone before going on the state system why I did not want to be computerized. My answer was simple: It was not that I didn’t want to go on the system, but technology is expensive. I felt it posed an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers for the convenience of the state when I could use a manual cash journal and an ink pen to make entries on the rule docket book.”

What does Roberts take away from her years at the courthouse?

“The old adage that says, ‘If you find something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,’ was absolutely written for me. It’s hard to get away from the office since I am pretty much a one-person show, but after being gone a few days, I miss it,” Roberts said. “It truly is an extension of my home, and the folks at the courthouse and in the community are my family.”

If there is one great theme to take away from Roberts’ work, it is that a love for home can move mountains in helping those around you.

“I feel it is a great honor and privilege to serve Moore County. With all the changes that Moore County has gone through during my time at the courthouse, I am very thankful to have been in the presence of those who helped make it what it is today,” Roberts said.

“The saying that ‘one generation plants the tree and the next enjoys the shade’ could not be truer. We are certainly enjoying the shade of the generation before us.”