Kendall Chosen by New York State Archives as 2019 William H. Kelly Archives Award Recipient
Poughkeepsie, New York: Dutchess County Clerk Brad Kendall was notified by letter that he will receive statewide honors on October 29 in Albany for his work in preserving county records, organizing archives and making them accessible to the public. The New York State Archives selected Kendall as the 2019 recipient of the William H. Kelly Annual Archives Award for Excellence in Local Government Archival Program Development, an honor given to one person from New York each year. The award is named for William H. Kelly, former Mayor of Asharoken in Suffolk County, known as an advocate for strengthening local government archival and records management programs.
Over the past thirteen years in his role as County Clerk, Kendall’s visionary leadership and drive has transformed the county’s archival records management program. Investment in key infrastructure, new procedures, and expert staff has enabled increased accessibility, improved preservation, and introduced greater efficiency in the management of Dutchess County’s archival resources for years to come.
Highlights include:
- Partnered with Dutchess County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro to restore the position of county historian at the full-time level that has been vacant since 1991.
- Secured seven consecutive years of funding from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund totaling $207,597 to index and image 132,000 pages of archival court records from the Ancient Documents Collection, 52,000 pages of which are accessible online.
- Acquisition of an auto-feed scanner and a Zeutschel book scanner to expand digitization capabilities.
- Ongoing series of technological advances with e-recording and e-filing, insuring that records management keeps pace with evolving practices and lays a steady foundation for future archival material.
- Addition of first Dutchess County Archivist since 1990 to advise and provide consultation to departments throughout county government on records management.
- Inception of the ThinkDIFFERENTLY back-scanning project by employing the county’s scanners and pioneering a partnership with Abilities First, Inc, to provide training and employment for disabled individuals. To date, over 1 million images have been digitized.
- Digitized mortgage and deed documents from 1981-1985, jumpstarting the county’s document imaging program. Conserved and rehoused the county’s earliest land documents, including the registers of sales of confiscated loyalist property during the Revolutionary War, preserving and insuring access to invaluable research material.
State Archivist Thomas Ruller heralded County Clerk Kendall’s achievements and his “extraordinary commitment to promoting the identification, preservation and the use of local government records. The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office is a model program in all these areas.”
Dutchess County Clerk Brad Kendall stated, “While I am grateful for the honor I would also like to acknowledge the staff of the County Clerk’s Office who work every day managing and maintaining these records to ensure accountability, efficiency and openness so our history is preserved for future generations. We remain steadfast in our dedication to preserving our historical records that document our heritage.”