David Hutchings looks through old deed books in the vault at the clerk of court’s office at the Thomas County Judicial Center.

THOMASVILLE — The same description of David George “Buzzy” Hutchings Jr. resurfaces repeatedly — public servant extraordinaire.

The description is right on target.

Hutchings, who will retire Aug. 31 after more than three decades as Thomas County clerk of court, does not seek solitude in his private office. He is always at the forefront assisting customers with situations ranging from the simplest to the serious.

In the heated local political atmosphere of 1980, Hutchings left a job as a state probation officer and ran — in a field of eight candidates — for clerk of court, eventually winning primary and general election runoffs.

“That was an active, energized year for politics in Thomas County. It seemed like everybody was running for something. A local man was running for congress, the sheriff was in a tough race, there were a good number of contested races,” Hutchings said.

Thomas County Sheriff Carlton Powell, who was first elected in 1976 and lost 12 of 19 precincts four years later, also remembers the long, hot summer of 1980.

“I won by 155 votes, and those came in the very last votes,” Powell recalled.

The sheriff’s early predication about Hutchings’ political future was correct: “I predicted he would not have opposition once he got his foot in the door.”

Powell added, “He did what the people elected him to do.”

Hutchings was the first elected Thomas County clerk coming off the fee system.

“There was very little set up on bookkeeping and accounting. Besides fines and fees, we collected well over $1 million dollars in child support. Everything was manual, and I do mean every function, and duty was performed by hand and manual typewriters,” he said.

Thomasville attorney John Holt, a lifelong Hutchings friend, said the clerk’s office has been at the forefront of incorporating technology, resulting in an office operating in an extremely efficient manner.

“David’s attention to detail and his professionalism resulted in the clerk’s office being run in a manner that is second to none,” Holt said. “ … We will all miss David when he retires.”

Will Sanders, a Thomasville lawyer, has known Hutchings for close to four decades.

“For most of that time, I’ve dealt with him on a very frequent basis in his position as clerk of the Superior and State courts of Thomas County. In David’s tenure as clerk of the courts, he has epitomized for me what every public servant should be: helpful, courteous, efficient and attentive to needs of the courts and the public,” Sanders said.

Hutchings has been a good friend to Sanders, who could not recall an encounter when the two did not discuss mutual interests and, “more often than not,” laugh about something.

Said Sanders, “His will be big shoes to be filled at the clerk’s office after his well-deserved retirement.”

A Thomasville native, Hutchings, 68, recalled a childhood in which children climbed trees, rode bicycles everywhere and experienced freedom.

Hutchings and his wife of 43 years and best friend, Janet, want to explore the American West, and Hutchings will have time now to grant his wife’s “continuous Holy Grail request” of cleaning out the attic and garage. Father of two and grandfather of three, Hutchings plans to spend time with his grandchildren when he leaves office in a few days.

Mrs. Hutchings described her spouse as “awesome.” “We enjoy doing things together,” she explained.

She said Hutchings is a man of “great character,” not unlike his late father.

Hutchings was among clerks of court interviewed for a history of Georgia clerks of court offices.

In response to a question by the interviewer, Hutchings said Georgia has many counties — 159 — because everyone wanted to be able to record deeds within a one-day ride by horse to their county seat.

“The clerk is an elected official, and he has to make things work,” Hutchings said in the videoed interview.

His key to success has been selecting good people to work in the clerk’s office, gaining their trust, being truthful with employees and treating the public courteously.

Everyone makes mistakes, he told the interviewer, “Just make sure they’re not big ones,” he advised.

Hutchings, whose courtroom position is in front of the judge’s bench and facing the gallery, has witnessed many situations in courtrooms in 34-plus years. Emotions often run high, and dramatic moments are frequent. Humorous moments also punctuate courtroom happenings now and then.

Through it all, Hutchings remains poker-faced. How does he do it?

“What keeps me poker-faced is the guy in the black robe behind me, the judge,” Hutchings quipped.

Superior Court Judge James E. “Jim” Hardy and Hutchings entered public service the same day — Jan. 1, 1981. Hutchings took office as Thomas County clerk of court, Hardy as an assistant district attorney in the Southern Judicial Circuit.

Hardy described Hutchings as a confidante and dedicated, customer-oriented public servant, who took the clerk’s office from the typewriter to the latest in electronics.

Hutchings, the judge said, always wanted “to be ahead of the curve.”

Said Hardy, “He loves his family, he loves his grandchildren, he loves Thomas County for Pete’s sake.”

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.