Ottawa Employee Awarded for Accessible, Transparent Elections

Ottawa County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 11/04/2022 09:21 AM EDT

November 4, 2022

For Immediate Release

Ottawa Employee Awarded for Accessible, Transparent Elections

Katie Sims, Ottawa County Elections Coordinator, was honored last week at the Ottawa County Diversity Forum with the Excellence in Equity Award. The award bestowed by event organizers recognizes public sector employees in Ottawa County who implement equity within their practices, programs, policies and decision making.

Katie has been with the Ottawa County Clerk's office for six years. She was brought aboard as an elections intern in October of 2016. Sims later became full time with the office as a Clerk-Register of Deeds Specialist. In 2021, Katie was promoted to Elections Coordinator. In this role, her unwavering dedication to accessible and transparent elections earned her the Excellence in Equity Award from Ottawa County.

Katie is passionate about inmates' rights to vote and she has forged a partnership with the Ottawa County Sherriff's Office to ensure this population has access to voting.
Katie was a pioneer in securing and publicizing Ottawa County's accessible voting machines, known as the voter assist terminal.
Educating voters about all of their options to cast a secret ballot is of utmost importance for Sims.
Katie speaks Spanish and is giving customers and candidates the resources that are needed to help them with their voting needs; recognizing language is part of accessibility.

"Katie has a heart to serve every resident of Ottawa County with fairness and integrity," said Justin Roebuck' Ottawa County Clerk. "She also passionate about using her communication skills to increase the transparency of our election operations and to ensure that our voters and candidates have the information they need. I am so grateful for her dedication and leadership on our team."

Katie edged out 20 nominees showing an overwhelming declaration and dedication to this diversity, equity and inclusion work throughout Ottawa County. You can learn more about how Ottawa County is election ready, accessible and transparent on Facebook @OCClerkRegister and on Twitter @OttawaElections.

Katie Sims | Photo Credit: Kristin Kirsch, City of Holland

Media Contacts:

Please Contact Shannon Felgner, sfelgner@miottawa.org, for photo file.

Justin Roebuck
Ottawa County Clerk
616-994-4537
jroebuck@miottawa.org

Katie Sims
Elections Coordinator
616-994-4535
ksims@miottawa.org

Robyn Afrik
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director
616-994-4755
rafrik@miottawa.org

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Ottawa County is located on Lake Michigan's spectacular freshwater coastline where nature is cherished and protected. More than the lakeshore, you'll find the people of Ottawa County friendly yet driven, working hard to succeed in charming downtown small businesses, at manufacturing hubs with global impact and on acres passed down from generations. We embrace creativity and believe that diversity makes us stronger. We resolve that our public services must be high-quality and cost-effective. We are innovative and never wait for someone to solve our problems for us. We are friendly neighbors chipping in, lending a hand and making sure you know Ottawa County is where you belong.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meets the second and fourth Tuesdays each month at 1:30PM. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. Meetings are held in the Board Room located at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, Michigan. Contact information and district information for the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is available at miOttawa.org.

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