by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
If everybody behaved themselves, Sheri Whited wouldn’t have much of a job.
But they don’t, and she does.
Whited, who worked for almost 18 years at the State Attorney’s Office, began her new job Feb. 3 as supervisor at the Misdemeanor A and B Department for the Duval County Clerk of Court.
“The volume is so much when you deal with misdemeanors,” she said. “It’s unbelievably high.”
A graduate of Andrew Jackson High School, Whited began working in the system when she replaced a friend as a part-time clerk with the sheriff’s office. Before long, a supervisor recommended her for an interview to fill a vacancy in the State Attorney’s Office, and she got the job.
“After high school, you think you’re going to go off to school,” she said. “I just ended up staying and growing in the system.”
She “kind of did everything” over the years, mostly in the juvenile and county court misdemeanor departments.
She began the job in March 1986 and became a supervisor in April 1993.
“Gordon Morgan (chief assistant to Clerk of Court Jim Fuller) and I worked real closely when they changed the way they wanted to do business out at the Juvenile Detention Center and turned it into the Juvenile Assessment Center,” Whited said. “I was responsible for paperwork and overseeing the clerical staff.”
She began working in county court misdemeanors in 1993.
“County was tough,” she said. “With the citations, you have so many to handle. Very busy. It’s just a whole different world, but it was fun.”
When the office bought a new computer system in 2002, Whited was selected to help set it up, working as the systems administrator for the past two years. She was named the 2003 employee of the year for the State Attorney’s Office.
“It was tough, converting from the City mainframe, which has been in existence for 30 years or more,” she said. “We started in January 2002, and we went live in April 2003. That was a big undertaking. Getting it set up and to the point where it meets your needs is tough.
“I think we’re in a growing period now. Times are changing.”
With all the traffic citations that are funneled through the Misdemeanor A and B Department, Whited knows the amount of work isn’t going to drop off any time soon.
“I have a little bit of an idea how much it’s going to be because I was doing it on the other side, with the state,” she said. “But, with the state, the police department will handle some of it.
“The volume here is probably greater than it was over there because you have the traffic citations. And, my heavens, it is a lot.”
She is supervising 41 employees, including all the workers in the Intake Division, “which takes everything in,” said Whited. “The clerks set up the files. I have my division clerks who actually prepare the calendars for court, and enter (the data) and the dispositions when the files come back.”
Whited is keenly aware of where she works and knows not everyone is enthusiastic about being in the courthouse. Customer service, in other words, is as important in her office as it is anywhere else. Perhaps more important.
“I’ve had a meeting with my people, and they know customer service is a rule here,” she said. “If we can’t handle them, if, for whatever reason, we can’t meet their needs, they’re not to just shoo these people away. They’re to get a contact.
“My goal is to make it as pleasant for the people coming in as well as for the employees. I want to make this a really good working environment.”
After only nine days in the job, Whited is savoring the opportunity to do what she enjoys in the surroundings she prefers.
“It’s exciting, and I’m excited to be here,” she said. “This is my niche.
“I like the management. I like coming up with new ideas. Computers are fun, but I’m back in my environment now.
“I think we can do a lot here to make it more effective.”