Published: May 25, 2009 09:53 pm      

Waurika gets new city clerk in Bryant

WAURIKA — After five years of spending most of his time living out of a suitcase, Mark Bryant was ready to settle into a job that didn’t require logging so many miles and waking up in hotel beds.

Bryant’s timing was good. His desire to change careers coincided with the City of Waurika’s search to replace Donalda Showalter as city clerk.

“For the last five years, I’d been a petroleum land man. Even though I’d moved to Waurika in 2004, most of the time I was traveling. I’d been storing my stuff in the barn at my mom’s place, because I lived in hotels the last 4 1/2 to five years,” Bryant said, as he neared the end of a first month as Waurika’s city clerk.

By taking the clerk’s job, Bryant came to roost in an area he knows well. Although he grew up in Texas, graduating from Wharton High School in 1991 and then earning a bachelor of science degree from the University of Texas-Pan American, Bryant has deep roots in Jefferson County.

His grandparents, Pete and Corrine Countiss, were longtime residents, and his mother, Leanette, was raised in Waurika, graduating from WHS in 1962.

As a youngster, Bryant made many journeys to the area with his mother and father, the late Elvis Wayne Bryant.

And there’s another tie to the area — Mark Bryant’s brother, Michael, has lived in the county for eight years and is in a second term as county sheriff.

“When I first came up here, even though I was only here on weekends, because of my work as a land man, I always felt welcome in Waurika,” said Mark Bryant, whose work in the petroleum industry encompassed a region that covered Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Arkansas.

“When the country’s economic situation hit the oil and gas industry, I began looking for work in the Waurika area. After a couple months of looking, I was honored to have been hired as the new city clerk for Waurika.”

Before working in the petroleum industry, Bryant logged time as an insurance salesman, a call center customer service representative for a direct TV and mobile phone business, and a high school English teacher. That diverse experience should come in handy, because he’s moved into a position that requires multi-tasking and a wide breadth of knowledge.

When he interviewed for the city clerk’s job, Bryant was given a three-page job description that listed 48 different tasks; from being custodian of City Commission and municipal records, to issuing permits, to being the clerk for the municipal court, to being the city’s abatement officer.

As he’s been adjusting, Bryant has begun giving special attention to the abatement officer role, which he believes is one of the key tasks.

“If we’re going to get new businesses and people into Waurika, it’s really important that the community is seen as a clean, safe place to live,” he said. “I want to get the abatement process moving again, although it’s going to take some time, and I’m asking that people show some patience as we get the process started again.”

To get the abatement process rolling, Bryant first looked within. He sent a letter to all city employees, asking them to take the lead in the clean-up project by making sure any properties they own meet standards.

“I wanted to make sure that properties owned by city workers are in line and under code. So, I’ve issued a warning letter to all city employees that I’ll hold them to a higher standard than regular citizens,” Bryant said.

“Abatement is going to be a priority with me, and I’m eventually going to create a tracking system of property addresses, which will be open to the public.