CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien today congratulated House Clerk, Karen Wadsworth, who was recently voted President-Elect of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries. This professional organization, founded in 1943, was created to improve legislative administration and foster communication between the nation’s Clerks and Secretaries. It has grown to include international partnerships and is responsible for the updating of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure; Wadsworth sat on the last two commissions that oversee the updating.
“On behalf of the House, we congratulate Karen for her achievement. It is certainly well deserved and we are proud of her accomplishments. Karen has and continues to represent the New Hampshire House admirably and we are thankful for her service, experience and vast knowledge of the history and procedure of this body,” said Speaker O’Brien.
Wadsworth, who now lives in Bow, is a former mayor of Lebanon and a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives where she was Chair of the Municipal and County Government Committee and of the Administrative Rules Committee. She will be the first House Clerk from New Hampshire to become President of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries. Wadsworth will be sworn in as President in September 2012.