By Bruce Rolfe
It’s been almost a year since Sarah DeBoer was elected as the new Climax Township clerk, and she’s enjoying the experience.
DeBoer was elected to the position in November, 2024, after former longtime clerk Marcia Lewis chose not to run for re-election after serving over 18 years as Climax Township Clerk.
A resident of Climax Township since 2019. DeBoer said when her family lived in Pavilion Township a rezoning change got her interested in local government.
“They were going to rezone a field across the street to industrial. So my neighbor and I got together, went up and down the street and knocked on doors. Got a group together and we went to the Township,” said DeBoer.
Her neighbor, who was concerned with the rezoning change as well, started working as a Pavilion Township precinct election worker. DeBoer also became an election worker for Pavilion Township elections in 2017.
DeBoer said the rezoning change that paved the way for an apartment complex to be built in the country setting she and her husband enjoyed, was a motivating factor the family decided to move to Climax Township.
DeBoer, who had never served as a municipality clerk before, has been in office for over 11 months and feels she’s starting to settle into a comfort zone with the job.
“It’s not as traumatic to know what the details are. There’s still a lot to learn. Election stuff is coming up. That’s a really big part of the job,” said DeBoer.
The new Climax Township Clerk said she was pleased the Climax Township Board made the decision to approve a contract with Pavilion and Brady Townships that will allow the three townships to hold early voting together at one location in Pavilion Township. This will provide a closer location for early voting for residents in all three townships.
“That was one of the things that I was excited about when I ran. I wanted us to bring the early voting away from the County and bring it back locally,” said the new Climax Township Clerk, who feels an early voting opportunity closer to Climax Township will allow early voters to have shorter wait times.
DeBoer said keeping track of requirements, especially surrounding election laws and public notices, was eye opening.
“It’s really all over the place. The amount of rules, regulations and little jobs you have to do,” she said.
DeBoer said most people have been patient and helpful as she transitioned into her new role.
After learning many local residents are generational, it became evident to her Climax Township is a special place where people like to live and work.
DeBoer said she’s been impressed how close the community is.
“People have lived here their whole life and their parents have too. They all know each other and they don’t move away, so I think there’s something really special about Climax
Township that keeps people here. I’m really excited to be here,” said DeBoer.
DeBoer said having the opportunity to meet Climax Township residents is something she has embraced, whether it is residents who are stopping by to pay township taxes or stopping by with a question.
She adds she’s been very impressed how the township board attempts to spend tax dollars wisely while providing a variety of services.
“Everyone seems to have a common idea that we need to keep costs down really low and we’re not going to waste money. Even little things like printing on both sides of the paper for board packets to make sure we keep the cost down,” said DeBoer.
She’s also been impressed how a small fire department operates efficiently on a small budget.
Since DeBoer and her Deputy Clerk Amy Strzalkowski have both worked elections in Pavilion Township, they have been exposed to the election process, leaving her confident she will be prepared for the next scheduled election in Climax Township in 2026.
She said there’s no real manual or rule book describing all the details involved with being a clerk. So DeBoer relied a lot on Lewis, who she said has been a tremendous help teaching her the ins and outs of the clerk position.
“She stayed on for several months. She had a list of stuff she wanted to go through with us to make sure we knew. Very detailed. It was really nice that we had someone here to show us what to do because there is a lot of detail and having been here for so long, she knew them all,” explained DeBoer, who said she currently feels she will run for the clerk position again in 2028.
DeBoer and her husband Jacob have six children, 5 boys and one girl, ranging from 22 years old all the way down to a 6 year old. She home schools her children when she is not working at the Township Hall.
It’s been almost a year since Sarah DeBoer was elected as the new Climax Township clerk, and she’s enjoying the experience.
DeBoer was elected to the position in November, 2024, after former longtime clerk Marcia Lewis chose not to run for re-election after serving over 18 years as Climax Township Clerk.
A resident of Climax Township since 2019. DeBoer said when her family lived in Pavilion Township a rezoning change got her interested in local government.
“They were going to rezone a field across the street to industrial. So my neighbor and I got together, went up and down the street and knocked on doors. Got a group together and we went to the Township,” said DeBoer.
Her neighbor, who was concerned with the rezoning change as well, started working as a Pavilion Township precinct election worker. DeBoer also became an election worker for Pavilion Township elections in 2017.
DeBoer said the rezoning change that paved the way for an apartment complex to be built in the country setting she and her husband enjoyed, was a motivating factor the family decided to move to Climax Township.
DeBoer, who had never served as a municipality clerk before, has been in office for over 11 months and feels she’s starting to settle into a comfort zone with the job.
“It’s not as traumatic to know what the details are. There’s still a lot to learn. Election stuff is coming up. That’s a really big part of the job,” said DeBoer.
The new Climax Township Clerk said she was pleased the Climax Township Board made the decision to approve a contract with Pavilion and Brady Townships that will allow the three townships to hold early voting together at one location in Pavilion Township. This will provide a closer location for early voting for residents in all three townships.
“That was one of the things that I was excited about when I ran. I wanted us to bring the early voting away from the County and bring it back locally,” said the new Climax Township Clerk, who feels an early voting opportunity closer to Climax Township will allow early voters to have shorter wait times.
DeBoer said keeping track of requirements, especially surrounding election laws and public notices, was eye opening.
“It’s really all over the place. The amount of rules, regulations and little jobs you have to do,” she said.
DeBoer said most people have been patient and helpful as she transitioned into her new role.
After learning many local residents are generational, it became evident to her Climax Township is a special place where people like to live and work.
DeBoer said she’s been impressed how close the community is.
“People have lived here their whole life and their parents have too. They all know each other and they don’t move away, so I think there’s something really special about Climax
Township that keeps people here. I’m really excited to be here,” said DeBoer.
DeBoer said having the opportunity to meet Climax Township residents is something she has embraced, whether it is residents who are stopping by to pay township taxes or stopping by with a question.
She adds she’s been very impressed how the township board attempts to spend tax dollars wisely while providing a variety of services.
“Everyone seems to have a common idea that we need to keep costs down really low and we’re not going to waste money. Even little things like printing on both sides of the paper for board packets to make sure we keep the cost down,” said DeBoer.
She’s also been impressed how a small fire department operates efficiently on a small budget.
Since DeBoer and her Deputy Clerk Amy Strzalkowski have both worked elections in Pavilion Township, they have been exposed to the election process, leaving her confident she will be prepared for the next scheduled election in Climax Township in 2026.
She said there’s no real manual or rule book describing all the details involved with being a clerk. So DeBoer relied a lot on Lewis, who she said has been a tremendous help teaching her the ins and outs of the clerk position.
“She stayed on for several months. She had a list of stuff she wanted to go through with us to make sure we knew. Very detailed. It was really nice that we had someone here to show us what to do because there is a lot of detail and having been here for so long, she knew them all,” explained DeBoer, who said she currently feels she will run for the clerk position again in 2028.
DeBoer and her husband Jacob have six children, 5 boys and one girl, ranging from 22 years old all the way down to a 6 year old. She home schools her children when she is not working at the Township Hall.
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