FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2019
Contact: Susan Norton
Director of Communications
479-575-8330
snorton@fayetteville-ar.gov
City Mourns Loss of City Clerk Treasurer Sondra E. Smith
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The City of Fayetteville mourns the loss of City Clerk Treasurer Sondra E. Smith, who passed away on October 15, 2019. Obituary and service information is available on the Moore’s Chapel website here.
“Sondra was a friend to many and a friend of mine for more than 17 years. She dedicated herself to her work, she loved her staff, she loved this City, and she was loved by all who knew her,” said Mayor Lioneld Jordan.
Sondra was a lifelong resident of Northwest Arkansas and was elected four times, serving continuously as Fayetteville’s City Clerk since 2003. The duties of the Office of the City Clerk Treasurer are vast and detailed. Sondra was an exceptional record keeper – instilling the practice to her staff, and eagerly sharing her process and knowledge with colleagues across Arkansas and beyond. Sondra believed wholeheartedly in providing excellent and efficient customer service to the public, staff, and elected officials. As record-keeping and governing technology improved, Sondra and her staff embraced the possibilities and worked with other departments to implement a new digital archive system, create easier access to records and legislation documents online, broaden meeting notification, and much more. Sondra’s office managed a three-year-long, 1.5+ million document archive system and her staff processes tens of thousands of varied tasks yearly.
Sondra not only served the Fayetteville community, she also assisted municipalities throughout the state. She held leadership and committee positions with organizations such as Arkansas City Clerks, Recorders and Treasurers Association; Arkansas Municipal League; and both the Policemen’s and Firemen’s Pension and Relief Fund Board of Trustees. She was a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks, Association of Records Managers and Administrators International, and was an International Certified Municipal Clerk and Arkansas Certified Municipal Clerk. Sondra was nominated several times for the Arkansas Municipal Clerk of the Year and awarded the honor in 2014. She received the Adrian White Municipal Leadership Award in 2014 and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Brotherhood Award in 2015. Sondra was a mentor to her staff and other clerks.
The reliability and responsiveness of Sondra and her staff provided a sense of ease to other City employees and officials. One could always depend on the City Clerk’s Office to locate and provide documents, no matter how obscure. Her service to the community was inspiring; she will be missed.
Additional information about Sondra E. Smith and the Office of City Clerk Treasurer can be found at this section of the City’s website.
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