Urbanna hires Christine ‘Chris’ Branch as new town clerk

Recently-hired Urbanna Town Clerk Christine “Chris” Branch has more than 30 years experience and is a  “certified municipal clerk,” said Urbanna Mayor Bill Goldsmith.  “With her experience, we think she will be a great addition to our town staff.”

Most recently, Branch was clerk to the King William County Board of Supervisors for four years.

“I absolutely love being a clerk and the work I do. I especially enjoy meeting citizens and helping them in any way I’m able. My main passions are government transparency and records management. I also enjoy helping people to understand the often confusing lingo of local government.”

Branch explained that former town clerk Martha Rodenburg was the first person Branch met when she became a member of the Virginia Municipal Clerk Association (VMCA). “When I saw the (Urbanna) job advertisement email from VMCA, I immediately sent in my resume,” said Branch. 

Background

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Branch moved to Virginia in 1996.  Upon accepting this town clerk position, Branch has relocated from Mechanicsville to the Urbanna area.  “I’m looking forward to new beginnings in the peaceful surroundings of Urbanna.” Her first day was Nov. 25 and Rodenburg worked with her a few days during the transition.

Education

• Branch is a certified municipal clerk through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and the Virginia Municipal Clerk Association (VMCA) through VCU. 
• She has records management and administration training from Virginia Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. She also has attended numerous other training courses including the Virginia  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), records management, workplace safety, conflict management, management and leadership, business communications, personnel management, and other training.
• Between 2021-2023, Branch earned a bachelor’s degree in business communications with Internet and social media concentration at Regent University in Virginia Beach. 
• Branch attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago from 1987-1989, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting, while minoring in literature and journalism.

Experience

While working for King William County, Branch was records manager and the FOIA officer, among her many responsibilities. She was  the county’s website administrator and managed the county’s Facebook page. She wrote, and sent weekly county newsletters, as well as proofreading and editing the county administrator’s blog and monthly message.

Branch also performed all administrative duties related to the 2023 Reassessment of Real Property and served as clerk for the   Board of Equalization and was the contact person for citizens.

From 2002 to 2021 Branch was administrative assistant for Fairmount Christian Church in Mechanicsville. In this position she had for more than 18 years, Branch created all marketing materials including church brochure, Sunday schedules, and all ministry and program informational materials. She implemented current church management software systems and wrote technical user manuals for all aspects of usage. She taught others how to use several computer programs.

For four years, Branch was editor of Skirmish Line magazine in Winchester and performed all functions from writing, editing, layout, coordination of articles, photo editing, and final production and distribution with an outside printing organization.

Branch also was administrator at the Greater Richmond Area Health Education Center Inc. from 1997-2001 and oversaw daily operation of the office.

She also was marketing assistant and customer relations manager with Southern Retailers Inc. of Richmond, which is currently FasMart. She was responsible for all marketing functions for the local chain of 22 convenience stores.