Drenda Ammons, left, sits with Roseboro mayor David Alexander, right, at a recent meeting. Ammons gave her letter of resignation to the board Tuesday night. (Doug Clark/Sampson Independent)

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After close to 25 years serving the town of Roseboro, town clerk Drenda Ammons has resigned.

“It really was a very hard decision for me to make,” Ammons said, “but I felt like it was time.”

After a brief closed session earlier this week, the Roseboro Board of Commissioners agreed to approve Ammons’ resignation.

“She is very good at what she does,” said Mayor David Alexander, noting that received Ammons letter just before the meeting started Tuesday night. “It was a shock to actually get the letter in my hand, but she had been talking about it for two or three weeks.”

Her final day will be at the next board meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 14.

“This is a very stressful job,” Ammons acknowledged. “I am looking to go to a job that is a little less stressful.”

Whatever her reasons, some board members were not thrilled to accept the resignation.

“I have been working with her for about five years,” said town commissioner James McLean. “It is sad. Drenda is a fixture in the town. Whoever comes in there is going to have some very big shoes to fill.”

Yet McLean made the motion to accept her resignation, saying, “I regretfully accept” the letter.

“It was heartfelt,” McLean said. “It is really sad for me to do it, but she really wanted to leave. Drenda’s special and she is going to be missed.”

Alexander agrees.

“I have been with her since 1998,” he said. “It is hard, because she did a lot. Her work means a lot to her and she works hard. On top of that she really loves Roseboro.”

Right after the approval of Ammons’ resignation, the board formed a committee to find a replacement. A special meeting is expected next week to discuss how the board will go about doing that.

“Right now, we have to talk about it,” Alexander said. “A committee has been formed and we will discuss it. But I can tell you, I hope that we look to employ from within because it will be hard to bring in someone from outside who doesn’t know the town. Drenda was not only the town clerk, she also wrote grants for us. So we will have to look at it very carefully.”

The mayor said that he expects Amanda Beatty, who has been the town’s deputy town clerk and tax collector for the past eight years, to be at the top of the list to replace Ammons.

To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or email to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.