Hyde County Clerk of Court Sharon Sadler will not seek reelection, an announcement that represents the end of an era for the clerk’s office.

For nearly four decades, Sadler has been a presence in the office. A Swan Quarter native, she hired on as a deputy clerk in 1976, immediately after graduation from Chowan College. She advanced to assistant clerk in 1981, and was then appointed clerk of court by the Honorable William C. Griffin in 2001.

“Thirty-eight years is a long time to work for the state of North Carolina — and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Sadler said. “This is all I’ve ever done, the only employment I’ve ever had.”

The last three elections, Sadler has run unopposed for the office. Now, she said, it’s time move to on. It’s not quite retirement, but Sadler’s looking for a change of pace.

“I’m coming home to help my husband on the family farm and look for other service, volunteer opportunities,” Sadler said.

Sadler distinguished herself as the county clerk, serving as a member of the Governor’s Crime Commission under governors Easley, Perdue and McCrory, as well as serving on the Rural Courts Commission and continues to serve as an executive committee member for the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court.

But perhaps the most memorable way she stood out as Hyde County clerk was due to her management of the office during a very trying time in Hyde County government’s history: the four long years between the flooding of Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and the completion of the Hyde County Government Complex in 2007.

“I was a new clerk — I had not been clerk very long — when Hurricane Isabel came through. Our office, the register of deeds and the Hyde County tax office were relocated 10 miles east to New Holland,” Sadler said.

Caught in the flood, records had to be freeze-dried, sanitized and restored by an out-of-state firm, while the clerk of court’s office was set up in an old restaurant and store that had been vacated. There, staff made the most of the situation: packing up records three times a month for District Court, six times a year for Superior Court. Employees were cross-trained to man the office and serve in the courtroom. And the court also had to find a new home.

“Court had to go on,” Sadler said. “For a short time, it was actually held at the fellowship hall of the Christian Church.”

Three months later, it would move to the Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department, where it would stay until the new complex was built.

“They’d move the fire trucks out, we’d set up the tables and have court,” Sadler said.

Sadler said she’s looking forward to finding new volunteer opportunities, though she has a head start as a member of the Swan Quarter branch SECU advisory board, Southern Albemarle Association, Hyde County Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with Hyde County Relay for Life fundraising.

But she is thankful for the citizens of Hyde County for the confidence of their votes and to her family, for standing by her.

“At the end of this term. I will have served a little over 38 years in the clerk’s office,” Sadler said. “That’s a lot of years of service to state. But I think I say it best when I say I total loved serving the people of Hyde County.”