Bend City Recorder Christie receives honor

The Oregon Association of Municipal Recorders has presented Bend City Recorder Robyn Christie, MMC, with the 2019 City Recorder of the Year award.

Christie received the award at the association’s annual conference banquet held at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend on Sept 19, 2019.

The guidelines for Recorder of the Year state any OAMR member, City Manager, or Mayor may submit a confidential nomination to acknowledge recorders and recognize their excellence and professional accomplishments.

The nominee must have made an outstanding contribution or performed outstanding service to OAMR, to the profession of Municipal Recorder, or to an individual city during the association fiscal year.

This award recognizes outstanding service and performance over and above the person’s job description. Some possible strengths might include areas such as Public Relations, Records Management, Legislative or Council Procedures, or even a special project.

Ms. Christie has been active member of OAMR since 1999. She has served as Host Recorder for two Annual OAMR Conferences held in Bend. She has served on numerous committees; including Records Management, Legislative, and Conference Committees as well as Region II Director.

She received her Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation in 2003 and the prestigious Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) designation in 2009 from International Institute of Municipal Clerks. In addition, she has a Master’s in Public Administration from the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.

Ms. Christie has worked for the City of Bend for eight years. Prior to that, she was City Recorder for the City of Lake Oswego for 13 years.

Ms. Christie is the quintessential City Recorder- working behind the scenes for the greater good, with little public or peer acknowledgment. Her nomination focused on two areas: public relations and records management.

This yea,r the Office of the Public Records Advocate, in conjunction with Governor Kate Brown, initiated a new program to honor government employees who upheld not only the letter, but also the spirit, of Oregon’s public records law. The recipients were nominated by government leaders, members of the public, or members of the media.

Earlier this year, Ms. Christie received this special honor because they provided decisive assistance to a member of the media during several elections without requiring the media member to file additional requests or to pay a fee for the records as there was a great deal of public interest around this matter. Her model of providing elections information to the media is something all City Recorders should consider adopting.

An excerpt from her nomination letters included, “She has an exceptional calm demeanor and professionalism that she brings to the position and the City. Her positive attitude and responsiveness to City Councilors and City staff has earned her the respect of individuals across the political spectrum. She has the ability to handle politics, citizens and controversy diplomatically.”

Congratulations, Ms. Christie!

OAMR is a professional organization dedicated to promoting governmental relationships and providing educational and training opportunities for over 200 Oregon city recorders statewide.

KTVZ 2019