Cloud County Clerk Shella Thoman Receives Master County Clerk Designation

Cloud County Clerk Shella Thoman recently received a Master County Clerk designation through the Kansas County Clerks’ and Election Officials (KCCEOA) Certification Program, the Sanborn Institute.

Thoman has been Cloud County Clerk since 2015.  She previously received her Certified County Clerk designation in 2019.

Each year 16 hours of training are offered in the Master Clerk class.  Master Clerk Certification is earned upon completion of 48 hours training.  Thoman, who resides in Concordia with her husband Jeff and two sons Noah and Isaac, was one of ten members to earn Master County Clerk designations from the Sanborn Institute in conjunction with Wichita State University.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Sanborn Institute.  The Kansas County Clerks’ and Election Officials Certification Program, the Sanborn Institute, was established through the leadership of Dorothy Sanborn, County Clerk of Seward County, Kansas.  In 1992, Dorothy chaired a committee of clerks who met in Wichita to discuss the establishment of an education program to provide professional development education and offer certification for county clerks.  The committee, along with the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs, Wichita State University, jointly established the guidelines for this program.

The Sanborn Master Academy was added in 1995 to offer continuing education for certified county clerks.

The Kansas County Clerks & Election Officials Association (KCCEOA) Annual Spring Conference was held in Topeka from May 2nd to May 5th.  The Hotel Topeka at City Center was the host venue for the conference with the theme of “When Everyone Leads”.  The keynote speaker was Dennis Clary with the Kansas Leadership Center.