Celebration planned for Michelle Crocker, Michigan’s longest-serving current county clerk
From staff reports
A celebration is planned to honor the longest-serving county clerk in Michigan presently in office upon the 30th anniversary of her being sworn in.
Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker assumed office on May 1, 1996. The event celebrating her service will be held Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in the community meeting center at the Leelanau County government center. Snacks, soft drinks and of course cake will be provided. No county funds will be spent on the event.
Crocker is presently the longest-serving employee in county government with 45 years of service. She was hired by Clerk Dorothy Wunderlich in 1981 at the age of 20. One year later she married her high school sweetheart Allan Crocker. The couple has three adult children in Joshua, Jonathan and Alex, and eight grandchildren.
Speakers at the event include Circuit Court Judge and former six-year Michigan House of Representatives member Kevin A. Elsenheimer, long-time school superintendent and 11-year county administrator Chet Janik, and others. A Congressional tribute will be bestowed to clerk Crocker through the office of Congressman Jack Bergman.
Crocker was presented with a special tribute by the Michigan Legislature in 2021 that stated, in part, “As Michelle Crocker well knows, financial pressures and changing expectations have combined to make the recent past a challenging time to work in local government. With the personal sense of duty that Michelle Crocker brings to work each day, she has been able to meet this challenge with enthusiasm and a genuine interest in efficiency in public service. This has been deeply appreciated, both by citizens and organizations in Leelanau County that have benefited directly from Michelle Crocker’s work as well as other public servants who have witnessed this fine example.”
The Glen Arbor Sun named Crocker among a list of Leelanau County “influencers of 2024” for adeptly overseeing the correction of a vote undercount following the November 2024 election. Local Democrats vying for the County Board of Commissioners lost the 6-1 super majority they thought they had, and found themselves in the minority, once a vote undercount was corrected by Crocker three days after the election. Rather than pout or sue, Democrats rallied behind Crocker, showed their faith in her, and accepted the results, for the good of democracy.
Clerk Crocker oversaw the conversion of county finances from paper spreadsheets to computerized financial programs.
Asked what she enjoys about her work that would keep her going so long, Crocker said, “The people. Helping the citizens, and teaching classes for election workers or personnel. It’s helping people like a nun who had no idea how to get a passport and trying to get her to take off her habit for a picture so she could see the Pope.”
Leelanau County has had its share of long-tenured elected officials starting with clerk Elmer Dalton who served from 1937-1973 — 36 years. The services of county Sheriff Bob White (1939-64) and Register of Deeds Frederick Hahnenberg (1936-1970) also surpassed the three decade mark.
Crocker was appointed clerk by circuit court judges Thomas Power and Philip Rodgers following the retirement of Wunderlich. Since that appointment Crocker has retained her post in eight straight elections, including the most recent. Her current term expires on Dec. 31, 2028.
