City clerk retires after two decades of service

Near Vickie Johnson’s desk in New Bern City Hall, there is a large candy dish that exists for the tired, the hungry and the fed up. That candy dish is one of the reasons that Johnson, the city clerk for two decades, has been called the best diplomat in New Bern.

“A person can come into City Hall absolutely at his wit’s end, aggravated, with a world of questions,” said Alderman Max Freeze. “And Vickie will say, ‘Here, sit down and have a piece of candy, and let me see if I can help you.’ Vickie and that candy dish have solved a whole lot of problems.”

For two decades, Johnson’s has been a familiar and friendly face in City Hall. She started out as the head receptionist, and since 1989, she has been the clerk to the Board of Aldermen. After 22 years of working with city leaders, Johnson will retire on Friday.

She and her family are moving to western North Carolina, where they will own and run a lodge in Little Switzerland.

“This is something that we talked about a couple of years ago, and then the economy went south,” Johnson said. “But within the past year, some pieces fell into place, and we decided to go ahead and do it. And when you decide you’re going to do something, you don’t need to let any moss grow under your feet.”

Johnson was appointed to succeed Annette West as city clerk in 1989.  Johnson dove into the job, gradually taking more courses as training became available. She received a master municipal clerk certification from the University of North Carolina’s School of Government in Chapel Hill.

“I just wanted to be able to do it the best I could,” she said. “Some of the best people God ever made are in New Bern, and I wanted to be able to help them any way I could.”

Johnson jokes that she has been working with the city so long that she doesn’t remember being anywhere else.

“It just seems like I woke up one day in New Bern,” she says. “And it became home.”

A steady stream of well-wishers came to City Hall on Wednesday to say their goodbyes to Johnson during a reception in her honor.

  “She is easy to talk to and very well respected by a broad spectrum of people in this community,” said City Manager Bill Hartman. “She leaves some big shoes to fill.”

And a big candy dish.

Nikie Mayo can be reached at (252) 635-5665 or nmayo@freedomenc.com.