Terry Desmond, DeKalb County clerk and recorder, has been selected by the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers as the first recipient of their Award for Excellence in Government.

The award was presented at the annual convention of IACREOT in Tucson, Az., July 10 to 14, by Edward Rosewell, association president-elect and Cook County treasurer.

Desmond was chosen from a field of eight candidates by a panel of IACREOT members because of his outstanding ideas in local government, Michael Keating, IACREOT president, said.

“I am extremely humbled,” Desmond said, when asked how it felt to be the first recipient of the award. “It is very gratifying to be recognized by my colleagues in such a way.”

Keating said Desmond was selected for the award because of the many programs he has initiated during his ten years in office.

Among those new innovations are educational seminars for government officials and high school students, state-wide micrographics and computerization fees, computerization of recorder’s office records and state-wide birth certificate identification for missing children.

Pictures of missing children have been posted virtually everywhere,” Desmond said.”They are quite helpful. However, kids change. We developed an idea in Illinois where the National Center for Missing Children would notify the state police, who would then notify the county,” he said.

“We flag the child’s birth certificate in case someone comes to us and requests a copy,” Desmond said.

IACREOT is an international organization with branches in Canada, West Germany, Australia, and Puerto Rico.