Though Dee Scott will be retiring from her position as Williamsburg’s Clerk of Council at the end of the year, she said her 21 years with the city will remain dear to her.
“A person cannot work here without it developing a special place in their heart,” she said.
Scott said the biggest perk of working for the city has been all of the friends she has made. She said there is not a single person in the Municipal Building she does not care for a great deal, calling it a “big happy family.” She also said there has been a “certain prestige” that goes with telling people she works for the city.
Scott wore many hats during her time working for the town; she started out part time in the City Manager’s office and ended up as clerk of council. Most of her time at the city – 13 years of it — was spent working for the planning department as the senior secretary, a job she filled in place of her predecessor and best friend Sheila Crist.
Crist went on to serve as the Clerk of Council and, in 2009, Scott once again followed Crist’s footsteps and started her work as the council’s clerk. Scott’s role as the clerk involved taking minutes at meetings for all city boards and commissions, managing city appointments and overseeing city records.
Her time working at the city has not always been easy, Scott said, as she recalled learning the ropes of the planning department.
“There are all these acronyms,” Scott said. “Overcoming my fear of the planning terminology was a big victory for me.”
It’s something Scott’s successor — Lisa Judkins, who previously worked in procurement at the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority — is learning now.
Scott grew up in California a child of sunshine and warm weather, she said. She was ill-prepared for the Virginia climate when she moved here with her then-husband and two children in 1970.
“I didn’t even own a coat,” she said with a laugh.
During the next 43 years, she worked for the school division as both a secretary to the principal at Lafayette High and later at the central office for Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools as an assistant to the assistant superintendent. After a stint in nursing school at Riverside School of Health Careers and working at a doctor’s office, Scott found the work unfulfilling.
That’s when Crist told her about a opening at the city. Scott applied and got the job. She liked working for the city so much she stayed — for 21 years.
Now that she is retired, Scott said she did not have any sort of grand plan. She intends to get more involved in her church and take time to do the simple things like lay on the beach and watch the waves break. She did say, however, she looked forward to attending public meetings — on the other side of the podium.
