Kendall County Clerk and Recorder Debbie Gillette, of Yorkville, doesn’t necessarily consider herself a politician. Rather, she sees herself as an elected official, chosen to serve the people of the county. For the way she has served the area’s growing population through her oversight of county records and elections, Waubonsee Community College is proud to name Gillette the college’s Student Success: Featured Alumnus for June.
Gillette actually grew up in Kane County, Aurora specifically, and attended Aurora Central Catholic High School. Upon graduation, she found herself wanting to go to college without going far away.
“I was not quite ready for a big university,” Gillette said. “Waubonsee was a close, affordable, small school, and I could live at home.”
Gillette knew she wanted to major in accounting and took several accounting classes while at Waubonsee, earning her Associate in Science Degree from the college in 1990. She was then ready to transfer to Aurora University.
“Waubonsee was really helpful in working with me to make the transition and transfer my credits to AU,” Gillette said.
Gillette’s post-college life has been marked by more transitions. She first started her accounting career at the firm of Newkirk and Associates in Plano, before transitioning into life as a stay-at-home mom to two sons, Nick and Jack.
“I’ve always been active in the community, volunteering for schools and sports, running a family, and just doing the best job I can do,” Gillette said.
So in 2008, when a vacancy opened up in the Kendall County Clerk and Recorder’s office, a friend noted Gillette’s involvement and encouraged her to run.
“I didn’t want to always ask ‘what if,’ so I knew I at least had to try,” Gillette said.
She won that election and served out the remaining two years of that term. She has since been re-elected to two additional four-year terms in 2010 and in 2014.
As the recorder and clerk of the county, she oversees a staff of 11 people and is responsible for local property records, birth and death records, marriage licenses, county board documents and local elections.
“I really rely on my organizational and prioritization skills,” Gillette said. “Plus, we focus on customer service, being responsive to the needs of the citizens of the county and helping them get what they need.”
She is also quick to credit her staff, especially in light of the county’s explosive growth over the past decade.
“The staff has really kicked it up,” Gillette said. “They know that it’s on them and on me, so we all pitch in and work hard every day.”
And, of course, there’s the support of her kids and her husband Garrick.
“I really couldn’t do what I do without their support,” Gillette said.
And while it’s still early in her third term, it sounds like she wants to keep doing what she’s been doing for a while to come. “I’m up again in 2018, and I really love what I do,” Gillette said.
