Wayne Nabors stepping away as Putnam County Clerk after serving 24 years in the role.
Nabors said his career in the clerk’s office spans a total of 32 years, including eight years working alongside his mother, Juanita Nabors.
“It’s tough,” Nabors said, “This has been, hey, this has been my life for 24 years. And, you know, I’ve, I’ve helped thousands and thousands and thousands of people over those years and navigated a whole lot of things.”
Nabors said the office has undergone significant physical and technological changes since he took over in 2002, moving from a crowded five-station facility in the old jail to the current building on North Washington. Nabors said the office now operates 14 stations and manages approximately $10 million in annual business through more than 160,000 transactions.
Nabors said technological advancements have shifted the office from using forms to a print-on-demand system for decals and titles. Nabors said the office also pioneered online renewals in Tennessee and now manages an inventory of approximately 400 different types of license plates.
“Putnam County has grown so much in the last 20, 24 years,” Nabors said. “I’m telling you child, people are moving here from everywhere. It is utterly amazing every day when people, they’re coming here from the North, the South, the East, and the West and I’m not kidding and seems like everywhere in between, but they really are. This, this is, this is the promised land and they’re coming to it, I’m telling you.”
Nabors said he plans to remain active in the community and intends to seek public office again in the future.
“My name will be on a, on a ballot in, in four years,” Nabors said. “You can count on it.”
Kerry Ledbetter set to assume the position.
