Warehouse worker, hotel desk manager, bank teller and elder care program director are a few titles Opal Keith of Nobleboro can lay claim to. This past Monday she embarked on a new career in town government as Woolwich’s newly hired town clerk and registrar of voters.

In a few weeks Ms. Keith will be able to expand her resume adding things to it like: like registering voters, not to mention cars, boats, trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles and trailers too.  She’ll also be proficient at selling hunting and fishing licenses, and issuing, marriage, birth and death certificates. On the evening of April 27, Keith will be able to say she’s called to order her first annual town meeting and sworn in the moderator.

“This is a big change for me, something entirely new, but I needed a change and am excited about starting my career in town government,” she told the Wiscasset Newspaper Wednesday, March 9 her third day on the job. For the last few years Keith said she’d been working in the health care profession. She starting in the field as a Certified Residential Medication Administrator, also known as a CRMA. “I did my training through Lincoln County’s Elder Care Network based in Damariscotta. It involved 40 hours of study followed by both a written and practical test.” The responsibilities of a CRMA include safely administering medications to elderly patients along with documenting their administration.

Keith said she left Elder Care to take a similar position at the Woodland Senior Living facility which is located in Waterville. While she was there she further added to her training by becoming a certified Personal Support Specialist (PSS). This past October she took on the added responsibilities of Program Coordinator at Woodland Senior Living. “I enjoyed the people but the job involved working many long hours. It also became a lot more stressful during the pandemic. It was particularly hard for me because I have a 4-year-old daughter, Naomi Evelyn. I knew I had to make a change and this position as town clerk caught my attention,” she said.

“Ideally, I wanted something where I could still interact with people on a daily basis and also learn new skills. I’ve only been working here for a few days but I’ve already met lots of people. They know I’m new and have been very welcoming and patient knowing I’m still in the learning phase.” Keith grew up in Nobleboro and is a graduate of Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, class of 2011.

David King Sr., chairman of the select board called her a rare find. “She has an engaging personality and will be a good fit at the town office,” he said. King added the town’s previous two town clerks, Anthony Blasi and Chelsa Lane were also hired by the select board without having any experience working in town government.

Keith will start her Maine Municipal Association training next week and says she’s looking forward to working her first town meeting. In the mean time she has Town Administrator Kim Dalton and Tax Collector Candance Conrad, to lend a helping hand with her day-to-day town clerk duties.

By the way, Keith has another interesting skill, she can drive a forklift, something she learned while working at the R. H. Reny Distribution Center in Newcastle, her first job after graduating from high school.