Secretary of State Linda McCulloch is pleased to announce that Debra Kelly from the Sky Federal Credit Union in Livingston has been selected as the first Montana Notary of the Year.

By virtue of this award, Kelly will be automatically nominated for the National Notary of the Year award given annually by the National Notary Association.

“Debra Kelly is exactly the person we were seeking to be the first Montana Notary of the Year. She was chosen from a strong field of nominees for demonstrating both exceptional services and high standards of practice,” said Secretary McCulloch.

“We instituted this award for the first time this year to raise the visibility of the invaluable work done by notaries in Montana. Notaries are the first line of defense against many types of fraud because they are responsible for determining the identity of the person who signs a document, swears an oath, or performs any of the other acts that require a notary public.”

Nominees were evaluated in the following areas:

Longevity
Kelly has been a notary for over ten years.

Variety of documents notarized
Kelly performs a wide variety of notarizations. She has attended three training sessions provided by the Office of the Secretary of State in order to learn the intricacies of a notary public’s duties as they evolve due to law changes and case law from court decisions.

Used a journal before October 1, 2009
Kelly has used a notary’s journal for many years. It is a national standard for notaries, even though it wasn’t required by Montana law until October 1, 2009.

Community service
Kelly has been active with the community theater in Livingston for 13 years, doing everything from concessions and costuming to choreography and performing in more than a dozen productions. She spent five years on Sky’s HELPing Hands committee, organizing donations and providing holiday meals for those in need. She worked with the local police department to provide teddy bears and blankets, and organized an “angel tree” with the names and needs of local children and adults for Christmas gifts, among other projects.

Exceptional notary service
Kelly trains 22 notaries in the Sky Federal Credit Union in Livingston. She also travels to local nursing homes, the hospital, and private homes to notarize documents for residents who are unable to travel to the credit union.