ROCKINGHAM — The phone at city hall will never be answered the same.

After working for the city for more than 20 years, City Clerk Gwendolyn Swinney has decided it’s time to retire.

Swinney was recognized for her years of service by the city council at Tuesday’s meeting.

Instead of delivering a farewell address herself, Swinney asked Mayor Steve Morris to do the honors, reading from a statement she had written.

“It’s not an easy thing to know what to say when you’re retiring, except, “The best time to start thinking about it is before your boss does,’” she wrote.

Swinney began her municipal career with the water department in 1994, after being recommended by then-clerk Johnsye Lunsford.

“There I became lifelong friends with a lot of people, both in-house and outside; including Rockingham citizens I probably never would have otherwise met,” her statement continued. “On occasion, I would run across people that weren’t as memorable or as kind as some, but I was able to deal with them.”

Swinney then recalled one incident while working in the water department.

“I had one customer…that christened me with some expletives I guess she thought I had never heard before, but saw I was not intimidated by her attitude or expressions of love for me, and after we came to an agreeable understanding, we are seemingly the best of friends today,” she said. “I found, and find, if you treat individuals the way you want to be treated dictates the treatment you get in return.”

Fifteen years Swinney began working for the city, Lunsford — who was then retiring — recommended that she be appointed as the new city clerk.

“I felt then, as I still feel, she had some mighty big shoes for me to fill,” Swinney said.

Those big shoes will now be filled by Sabrina McDonald, who currently serves as deputy city clerk and assistant city manager.

McDonald started her career with the city as a dispatcher with the Rockingham Police Department before moving up to her current station. She as certified as a clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks in 2015.

One of Swinney’s last official duties was to swear in McDonald — joined by her mother, Emma Jean Broady, who graduated with Swinney — as the new clerk, a position she will officially hold starting March 1, Swinney’s effective retirement date.

The council members all thanked Swinney for her years of service and wished her well on retirement.

Councilman Gene Willard brought up, and mimicked, her “unique way” of answering the phone: “City of Rockingham, how may I help you,” with a slow tempo and inflection on the first syllables of “City” and “Rockingham.”

“It’s wonderful to look forward to more leisure time and getting to do some of the things I always said I would do some day,” Swinney said. “But I also feel sadness at leaving behind what has been an important part of my life. Being here has not felt like work, it feels more like an extension of home, like a family.

“I have made a lot of friends, and maybe some enemies, but not because I didn’t try,” she continued. “I will not be seeing you in your offices or the hallways, but hopefully, I will see you out and about.”

Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal Sabrina McDonald takes the oath of office as new Rockingham city clerk from outgoing clerk Gwendolyn Swinney, left, as her mother, Emma Jean Broady, right, holds the Bible.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_sabrina.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal Sabrina McDonald takes the oath of office as new Rockingham city clerk from outgoing clerk Gwendolyn Swinney, left, as her mother, Emma Jean Broady, right, holds the Bible.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal Outgoing city clerk Gwendolyn Swinney receives a plaque of recognition upon her retirement from Rockingham Mayor Steve Morris at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_gwen.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal Outgoing city clerk Gwendolyn Swinney receives a plaque of recognition upon her retirement from Rockingham Mayor Steve Morris at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

By William R. Toler

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