Oct. 25, 2024
Tracy Prost has been selected as the winner of the Missouri Local Government Employee Retirement System’s (LAGERS) annual Local Government Hero Award. The announcement was made during the system’s 57th Annual Meeting held in Osage Beach on Oct. 24.
The Local Government Hero award celebrates the outstanding contributions of the state’s local public workforce and honors a LAGERS member who has gone above and beyond the daily duties of a public servant to enhance their workplace, community, and profession.
Tracy Prost was named this year’s award winner for her 42 years of service to the City of Perryville as a city clerk, where she played an instrumental role in improving the city for its citizens and demonstrating exceptional leadership to her colleagues.
“I think that the city clerk’s job is very much in the background, often no one knows they have a city clerk,” Tracy said. “But you’re working with people, you’re helping people, and I love that.”
In her role as city clerk, Tracy worked with the Board of Aldermen to develop meeting agendas and has served in numerous roles for the city, including as legal counsel while reviewing contracts and insurance paperwork to ensure all is in order; city engineer, where she developed and recorded easements and oversaw bid openings; communications director, where she polished speeches for the mayor, as well as proclamations and letters for the city. She also took on the role of training new city administrators throughout her career.
Several of Tracy’s accomplishments have been the addition of a park system, miles of walking trails, splash pads, and an accessible playground. She was also instrumental in improving the sewer and water systems. “I’m not by any means the one who’s digging the holes, but I get them what they need to dig the holes,” Tracy said.
Brent Buerck, city administrator for the city of Perryville, said the impact of city clerks is often seen, but not known.
“You can tell, I think, whenever you get to a community that has a good clerk,” Brent said. “Things are orderly, and the bills go out on time. And all those things happen because somebody is making sure it gets done. It’s probably the single most important position for me and what I do.”
Colleagues at the city of Perryville said they strive the emulate the culture that Tracy has established, both internally and within the community.
Although Tracy said she has never felt as though her job is “the hero job,” it’s the work that needs to be done to ensure a thriving community.
“As the city clerk, I am rarely in the spotlight,” Tracy said. “I’m the person that is quietly working in the background to make sure that everything is going smoothly. I’m making sure the bid and contract documents are handled properly so that construction projects are getting accomplished. I’m making sure that our office has the proper software needed to do their jobs. I’m putting the agenda together and getting all the information to the mayor and the Board of Aldermen so that all the wheels keep turning, and the balls don’t drop.”
Brent described Tracy’s service to the city of Perryville as being exceeded only by her tenacity to do the job correctly and for the right reasons.
“I think a true hero is someone who does things not necessarily because they want to, or because they were told to, but because it needs to be done. And I think Tracy, over the course of her career, did what needed to be done,” Brent said. “Every Batman has a Robin, and for 15 years, Tracy has allowed me to be her Robin.”
