Through Tough Time, Clerk's Office Carries On

During Harrison's this August, the town clerk's office represented more than a place to file for permits or freedom of information requests—it was a place to remember one of the town's most respected citizens.

Angela Tamucci and Diana Minishi sat in the office that day, answering questions from reporters and friends, giving out hugs and shedding tears for their boss and friend who died suddenly the day before.

Days later the town remembered Acocella, who had served as town clerk since 2008, with a well-attended and . At the time no one was thinking about how to replace Acocella the town clerk, everyone wondered how to replace Acocella the person.

But as the days turned to weeks and it became time to fill the regular duties of the town clerk's office, the first of those burdens was placed on Tamucci and Minishi. The town needed the office to operate. The two veterans of the office wanted to carry on the legacy of their former boss. It has worked out well for both parties.

"Everything we did, we not only did for the town, we did it for him," said Minishi, who has worked in the office for 18 years. "We knew we had a certain responsibility."

That responsibility included filling in at board meetings, filing permits and taking on the day-to-day responsibilities of an elected position. Although Acocella had been away from the office often before his death, he had been making behind-the-scenes office decisions via phone and e-mail every day. Minishi and Tamucci would now have to run the office without a familiar voice guiding them from the other end of the phone.

"We just put it in our minds that we had to move on, we just carried on the way we always did," said Minishi. "This is all through being really sad—it was tough."

With the election still months away and a new clerk not scheduled to take office until January 2012, the two have been asked to keep the office running for five months. To do so, both said they worked extra hours not only operating the office, but also asking other department leaders questions about how to carry out their role without a full-time clerk.

"It ran smooth, we made it run smooth," said Tamucci. "Diana and I are a team, we have to work together, there's no choice, we have to."

It hasn't always been easy. Tamucci continued taking the clerk's seat at town board meetings, as she had when Acocella was sick and couldn't make it. Both handled office decisions and other duties. They have stayed late and arrived early, making sure that no office hours were eliminated that Acocella would have kept.

They said important decisions were handled between the two of them and the town's legal department. The two have worked together in the office for 12 years, and their teamwork was critical in keeping the office running through an election season without a single public complaint.

"We were happy that we had each other because we bounced things off each other and made decisions," said Tamucci.

All that, with heavy hearts. Both women said Acocella's death has weighed heavy on them over the last few months. They had been close with their former boss, and said he still serves as an inspiration to them and others in the community moving forward.

"He was a friend to everyone," Minishi said. "We lost a friend in him, and you don't let a friend down."

In a little more than two weeks will take the office left vacant months ago. Minishi and Tamucci said they've been clearing out Acocella's office bit by bit over the last few months, respectfully clearing the way for the office and town to move forward.

Both women said they are looking forward to working with Greer, who will also have a difficult task replacing one of the town's most beloved public figures. 

But Greer will have help. Minishi said one of her memories of Acocella was the energy he brought to the position and determination to not let people who needed the office down. It's for that reason she's worked so hard and will continue to do so in the future.

Both women said they have received notes from people in town and co-workers in town hall commending them for the work they have done since August.

They mean so much more than a regular thank you because of who inspired their extra effort this fall.

"It meant a lot to us," Minishi said, "because we did it for him."