PHOTO BY DONNA CAMPBELL Joined by husband Marvin Jr., Mavis Stewart takes her oath of office, administered by friend and Chancery Court Judge Joseph Durr.

As Mavis Stewart took her oath of office Wednesday she made history, becoming the first black municipal clerk for the City of Brookhaven.

Stewart, 52, was sworn into the office in the chancery courtroom at the Lincoln County/Brookhaven Government Complex. The room was filled with family, friends, city employees, board members and supporters taking all the chairs and lining the walls.

Rev. Larry Jointer of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, who was sworn in as the City’s newest mayor last week, offered an opening prayer, thanking God for “opening doors” and “making ways out of no way.”

“Keep her mind clear and her heart on You,” he said.

Chancery Judge Joseph Durr spoke before administering the oath of office to Stewart, his friend for more than two decades.

Always joking with each other, he told an exaggerated story about casually sneaking food off her plate while she was having lunch at Broma’s with Marsha Fairman and Melenie Greene.

He tried to keep a straight face while describing how he helped himself to one of Stewart’s potato chips then finding himself in a headlock by the chip’s owner, being laughed at by Greene and getting judo kicked by Fairman. He said he learned his lesson and now panics and runs the other direction when he sees Stewart in a restaurant.

“She may be serious about her potato chips, but she’s more concerned with our great city and its future,” he said. “She’s an extremely hard worker. She’s intelligent. And she is a great fit for this city as municipal clerk.”

Durr explained the municipal clerk’s office is the hub of government, serving as the direct link between the inhabitants of a city and their government. As clerk, Stewart will be the city’s historian, owning the entire recorded history of the city and its people in her care. The clerk’s office is also the city’s auditor, bookkeeper, personnel director and custodian of the municipal seal.

“No other office in municipal service has so many contexts,” Durr said. “It serves the mayor, the board and all other departments without exception. All of them call upon the office of clerk almost daily for some service or information. This work is not spectacular, but it demands versatility, alertness, accuracy and patience.

“Mavis has all those attributes. She’s hardworking, she’s honest, she’s dedicated and loyal. There’s no doubt in my mind that she will make a fantastic city clerk.”

Stewart is a graduate of Loyd Star High School, but has lived in Brookhaven for most of her adult life. She and husband, Marvin Stewart Jr., have four children — Rajavion, Cordai, Rashana and Samari and several grandchildren.

She worked for 15 years in the Lincoln County Tax Collector’s office until a turnover in management led her to take a job in the private sector as bookkeeper for a car dealership.

She was asked to become the bookkeeper for the City of Brookhaven in 2016 by City Clerk Samantha Melancon. Stewart believes it was all in God’s plan.

“God has been good to me,” she said. “People don’t even know the journey that got me to where I am now. It’s God’s grace that got me here. I trusted God and He made a way. My faith is totally on Him.”

Stewart thanked everyone for coming to the ceremony, and took a moment to thank her office staff.

“We work closely together,” she said. “They’re like family. We’re with each other longer than family.”

That includes Melancon, who has been training Stewart to take her place when she was ready to step down as clerk.

“She’s been training me for three or four years to get me in position for this,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed that she knew that I was the one.”

She is grateful Melancon has decided to stay on with the City and has taken over Stewart’s bookkeeping job duties. They swapped offices and stresses earlier this week, though Stewart’s position didn’t become official until the Board approved it July 1.

Stewart is ready for the challenge as municipal clerk.

“I’ll take it one day at a time and do exactly what I’m supposed to do,” she said. “I’m going to do what’s best for the City of Brookhaven.