Students design new official seal
BROOKSVILLE –
Every year, thousands of court records and documents are printed with the official Clerk of Court seal.
In September, Hernando County Clerk of Circuit Court-Elect Don Barbee challenged the county’s eighth- through 12th-grade students to design a new seal for his office.
“I could have hired someone or asked my staff, but I wanted it (the seal) to have more of a Hernando County feel to it,” Barbee said.
Barbee’s office invited all county middle and high schools to participate, with six schools ultimately signing on. The clerk-elect visited many of the schools and students who entered, explaining the different roles the clerk’s office performs as official records and evidence keeper, chief financial officer and auditor.
Barbee told students when the United States began governing Florida, President Andrew Jackson’s first appointments were not judges, but two clerks — one in St. Augustine and the other in Pensacola.
Once the 169 entries were submitted, Barbee brought the designs home for the weekend for him and his family to “cull through.” By Monday, Barbee had narrowed the pool down to 15 entries and had his staff vote on the selected designs.
The designs with the three highest votes were combined to create the new seal, which will be publicly presented during the Board of County Commissioners meeting Jan. 8.
Matthew Caldwell from Challenger K-8, Jamarius Waddy from Powell Middle School and Andrea Coffman from Springstead High School were the three winners. Barbee surprised each student with a classroom visit and a $50 check from Barbee’s personal funds.
“It was awesome, so cool to see their faces,” Barbee said. “I wish I could do that everyday.”
Barbee served as assistant state attorney and special counsel to the clerk’s office until earlier this year, when he ran unopposed to succeed Karen Nicolai, who is retiring after 24 years.
“I’m really excited about the challenges and amount of responsibility,” Barbee said. “I have huge shoes to fill, but advice is only a phone call away.”
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