Carolyn Cooper Named 2007 Key Personnel of the Year
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, Carolyn Cooper, Office Manager of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, was named the 2007 Key Personnel of the Year. The announcement was made at the 2007 Key Personnel Conference sponsored by the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council. The conference was held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia.
"I have never been so surprised! It is quite an honor to be nominated by the people I work with," said Cooper. "It should have been an "office" award rather than an individual award. We, no doubt, have the best office in the State. We really have a great District Attorney, Buzz Franklin; he constantly strives to make things better for the employees. The members of the staff of the LMJC District Attorney's Office are the best! I really feel blessed to be a part of this office," said Cooper.
Cooper was nominated by Lookout Mountain District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin and his office staff.
"Carolyn began working in this office on May 15, 1977 and has served with five different district attorneys in her 30 years of service," said Franklin in his nomination letter. "Carolyn, for many years, was one of only two court secretaries who rode the circuit with the court schedule to all four counties. She officially became our office manager in 1997, although she had been doing the job unofficially for many years."
When asked to describe Cooper, Franklin and his staff say she is professional, loyal, hardworking, dedicated, a team player "in short, a person of true integrity. Franklin says that when the announcement for nominations for Key Personnel of the Year was posted, he was bombarded by requests from everyone urging him to submit Cooper's name.
Carolyn grew up in LaFayette, Georgia and attended school there. She has worked in the court system since her graduation from high school. She is married to Stan Cooper and they currently reside in Rock Spring , Georgia. She has a daughter, Casey Richie; a son-in-law, Ronnie Richie; and a grandson, Hunter.
"Carolyn is an invaluable asset to the office and the circuit," said Franklin. "No task is too difficult or too demanding. She routinely manages so many tasks with such ease that it often goes unnoticed. It has often been said in our office, "If anyone knows the answer, it is Carolyn," said Franklin.
"She is always willing to help any of the administrative assistants, the victim witness advocates, the investigators or the assistant district attorneys, both new and seasoned," said Franklin . "Carolyn is the person everyone goes to for advice. She goes out of her way to help assistant district attorneys who are new to the area. She has even assisted them in finding suitable housing. Her advice and opinions are highly valued by everyone in the office. She is usually the first sounding board I use within the office," said Franklin.
"Although Carolyn can, by rote, recite office policy and procedures, she is not one to say, "we've always done it this way, and so that is how we are going to do it." She is an innovator in the office. She continually finds ways to improve our office procedures to save time and effort," said Franklin. "She realizes what we do impacts other offices and thus works to improve our relationships with those offices. A recent example is her assistance in the design and implementation of a computerized system which calculates fines, court costs and the ever changing surcharges and add-on fees. The procedure, recommended by Carolyn and adopted by our office in conjunction with other agencies, has been overwhelmingly greeted with enthusiasm by the four superior court clerk's offices, the state probation office, private probation and the judges because it has saved everyone time and made everyone's job easier," said Franklin.
"She has long, established relationships with the offices of the four county governing authorities, as well as with all the law enforcement agencies. Many from those offices routinely seek her advice and counsel. It is not unusual to see a GBI agent, a deputy, a police chief or a sheriff confiding in her. If there are tensions or ruffled feathers with any other office, she amicably works to resolve those conflicts," said Franklin.
"Carolyn is, in a word, indispensable," said District Attorney Franklin as he concluded his nomination letter. "I wonder how the office could operate without her. Unfortunately, we will have to address that challenge next year as Carolyn is insistent upon retiring so she may devote more time to her family and grandson. In this nomination letter, I have tried to be brief as the solicitation notice for nominations requested. This was particularly difficult because if I had included all of the accolades or suggestions offered by her colleagues, brevity would be impossible. So in closing, please consider this nomination. Carolyn is not one to seek attention, compliments or awards, but her co-workers strongly feel she is very deserving of this honor," concluded Franklin.
