Professional Development
Hello and welcome to the Professional Development Page! The information on this page is intended to assist you with your professional growth and development.
NORTHWEST CLERKS INSTITUTE
Invest in Your Future—Attend the Northwest Clerks Institute
All successful professionals sharpen their skills on a regular basis. Your job is multi-faceted and changing. New citizen demands, legal changes in procedures and new information technologies have increased the pace of your work and require you to plan and expedite many different tasks at once. You are the citizen’s first point of contact in your local jurisdiction, and your elected officials count on you to make sure that your public meetings, records, elections and other special projects operate smoothly.
The job of Clerk is not getting any easier and you know the importance of keeping abreast of the latest issues and trends. The best way to do just that is by investing in continuing education and obtaining certification as a CMC and MMC. The Northwest Clerks Institute provides a comprehensive curriculum in public administration management, technical skills and professional/personal development.
The Institute experience is a unique combination of state-of-the-art classroom training, high impact networking, and one-on-one mentoring with municipal leaders and instructors. The professional friendships you will develop at the Northwest Clerks Institute will prove invaluable over the course of your career.
The Northwest Clerks Institute is held the first three weeks of June each year on campus at the University of Puget Sound. Registration opens in January. Details are sent out through OAMR when registration goes live.
The Week at the Northwest Clerks Institute - PD I, PD II, and PD III
The program begins on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. with an Institute orientation, a learning session and time to get acquainted with other Institute participants and leaders. Learn the lay of the campus and how to get the most out of your time at the Institute. An opening reception will be held on Sunday evening. The Institute ends on Friday at noon.
The Days at the Northwest Clerks Institute - PD IV
PD IV will not be held in 2026.
For more information, visit the NorthWest Clerks Institute website.
2026 schedule
Professional Development I
May 31-June 5, 2026
Professional Development II
June 7-June 12, 2026
Professional Development III
June 14-June 19, 2026
Professional Development IV
Will not be held in 2026
2026 Costs
Registration: $850
Overnight Lodging/Meals and Commuter Meal Package, are separate. Visit their website for more information.
Will not be held in 2026.
Contact
For questions regarding the institute, certification, and courses, please contact Joann Tilton - Institute Director via email [email protected] or at 209-456-7855. Or visit the NorthWest Clerks Institute website for more information.
Scholarships
OAMR and IIMC both offer scholarships to help offset the costs of attending the NW Clerks Institute. More information can be found at OAMR Scholarship Information and IIMC Scholarship and Grant Information
Certifications
Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) Program
OAMR and the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) are proud to be part of the CMC program which recognizes those individuals who have made the commitment to continuing education. University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, offers Professional Development (PD) courses approved by IIMC. These cover the curriculum areas, which, upon completion, fulfill the educational requirements to attain the CMC designation. The CMC certification is recognized worldwide and signifies excellence in continuing professional education, assuring that members are in the forefront of their profession.
Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) Program
The MMC program targets those recorders who have received their CMC certification and wish to continue learning new, innovative skills designed for professional education.
Tips for Tracking your Certification Points
Here are a few simple tips for keeping track of your points for your MMC levels.
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Use a tracking form. Your Professional Growth & Development Committee has created a form that can help you keep track of your Education and Professional/Social points, and it can be obtained from the website. Each column corresponds to the categories on the IIMC MMC application. The file was created in Excel, so the columns will automatically keep a running total for you.
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Save the tracking form to your computer desktop, so you will see it every day. When you first begin using the form, enter all the things you plan to do in the next year, and then italicize the font (or color the font, or whatever works for you). This way, it will be a reminder for you to: A) actually do it; and B) remember to get the documentation for it. Once you have completed the training, return the font to regular on your tracking form.
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Keep a file folder labeled ‘MMC’ where you keep your hot files. After filling out a registration for training, put a copy in there. If you receive a certificate afterwards, put it in as soon as you get back. Don’t worry about organizing the file until you see your spreadsheet getting you close enough to turn in your points. Then, just do it all at once.
Remember: you will need a minimum of 15 points in Education; and 5 in Professional/Social; and another 5 points in any combination of the 2. (You must have 60 Advanced Education Points and 40 Professional Contribution Points to achieve the MMC Designation)
If you have any questions about what qualifies for use in your points, please feel free to contact any member of the Professional Growth & Development Committee. You may also contact IIMC at (800) 251-1639 for assistance.
