County Clerk Bio
County Clerk Bill Knowles was elected to an 13th term in 2022 -- a record for an
elected official in this office. Through his years in leadership, the office has
been cited numerous times by The National Association of Counties for innovative
changes.
The County Officials Association of Tennessee (COAT) elected him as the
Outstanding Official of the Year for 2006. He was cited for keeping his office
on the cutting-edge of technology.
After winning election in 1974 the problem of long tag lines was tackled by
starting a program making it possible to order vehicle registration renewals by
mail. This initiative played a role in the Tennessee Legislature making
tags-by-mail mandatory in each of the 95 Tennessee counties.
In 2001 Knowles offered an option permitting motorists to renew a tag by
internet—a first for the State of Tennessee. He also contracted with the State
to issue driver license renewals and to process most vehicle titles locally.
With a dedicated staff and splendid assistance from the County’s IT department
other functions have been streamlined.
Below are several other milestones:
- Preparation of County Commission minutes advanced from a steno pad to become
the first in the State totally computerized.
- A recorded title and registration
info line available 24/7 was created.
- The Mayor and County Commission approved
his vision to open Hamilton County’s first Tag and Title Branch location in
1996.
- Marriage records were computerized, setting the stage in 2009 for
citizens and genealogists to conduct marriage research and study online.
The
County Clerk's philosophy to keep a healthy attitude toward change has added an
extra dimension of service to taxpayers.
County Clerk Philosophy
The County
Clerk’s philosophy of government business is captured in several sheets from the
Deputy Clerk Handbook.
Good Business
By Edgar A. Guest
If I possessed a shop or store, I'd drive the grouches off my floor;
I'd never let some gloomy guy Offend the folks who came to buy;
I'd never keep a boy or clerk With mental toothache at his work,
Nor let a man who draws my pay Drive customers of mine away.
I'd treat the man who takes my time And spends a nickel or a dime
With courtesy and make him feel That I was pleased to close the deal,
Because tomorrow, who can tell? He may want stuff I have to sell,
And in that case then glad he'll be To spend his dollars all with me.
The reason people pass one door To patronize another store,
Is not because the busier place Has better silks or gloves or lace,
Or cheaper prices, but it lies In pleasant words and smiling eyes;
The only difference, I believe, Is in the treatment folks receive.
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes,
than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company... a college... a church.... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...
WE are in charge of our attitudes.
- Charles Swindoll
The Value of a Smile
It costs nothing, yet creates much.
It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give.
It happens in a flash
and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
No one is so rich he can get along without it,
and no one is so poor but that he is richer for its benefits.
It creates happiness in the home,
fosters good will in a business,
and is the countersign of friends.
It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged,
sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble.
And if in the hurry and rush of the day,
you meet someone who is too weary to give you a SMILE --
leave one of yours.
For no one needs a smile so much
as those who have none left to give.