A lunch celebration Tuesday marked the next to the last day that City Clerk Bonnie Warne would report to her office in city hall.

Two weeks ago Warne turned in her resignation to City Manager Bob Bolz after accepting a position as city clerk in Tucker in DeKalb County.

Warne, 54, has worked at the city for 12 years, serving the last seven as city clerk.

She’s now turning a new chapter in her life, moving to Tucker with her husband Kevin, who has been commuting there to work for the last 18 years.

Warne said that seeing the commute grow longer and longer over the years has made cutting out all of those extra hours on the road by relocating to Tucker an easy decision.

“It’s a lot of work, but it's going to be a new chapter for us,” Warne said last week. “There’s going to be a lot of potential with this.”

Tucker has only been incorporated since 2016, and along with a city manager, Warne will be the first employee the city has hired.

The city of Tucker has more than 30,000 people in it, a population higher than that of Dawson County.

Bolz said at the farewell luncheon Aug. 22 that though he had only been employed at the city a short time, Warne’s absence will be greatly felt.
“I’m just going to tell you this lady’s amazing, I very much appreciate her and there are big shoes to fill for whoever comes behind Bonnie,” Bolz said.

Warne agreed that her job will not be an easy one to fill, but that she’s always in ‘clerk mode’ and is ready to tackle the new position in Tucker.

“When I walked into the city clerk’s position in August of 2010, I walked in not knowing anything that a clerk did,” Warne said. “I guess you have to be the type of person to want to learn it, but I found it intriguing. It was always something different. I enjoy it- I’m always in clerk mode, I really am. I’m always thinking of ways to better improve the city. That’s what a clerk does.”

A huge part of the job is dealing with the constant requests, Warne said.

“For the records management part, my saying always was ‘if it doesn’t hit my desk, it didn’t happen.’ People can talk all they want to talk, but until I make a file and it becomes official...we get every record there is,” Warne said.

Mayor James Grogan presented Warne with a “faithful service award” commemorating her 12 years at the city.

“I just want to tell you personally I appreciate everything you’ve done [since] 2010 that we’ve worked together,” Grogan said. “I never asked you for anything you didn’t deliver on time and with perfection and I know that everyone else that’s worked with you knows the dedication you’ve had...thank you very much.”

Warne worked in planning and zoning for five years prior to becoming city clerk. Before she came to the city, she was a paraprofessional at Kilough Elementary and worked at a credit union in Alpharetta.

Her husband was in the military, and the two lived in Pennsylvania, where Warne is from, as well as Frankfurt, Germany and South Carolina.

Warne said that leaving the city in the midst of so much growth makes her a little sad.

“I’m sad, but I’m excited. I know that the city is going to continue on,” Warne said. “It did after the previous clerk and will after me as a clerk. I hope they find a good fit for this position...I want to see it grow and prosper too.”