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She had no idea what was about to happen.
Patti Seal’s husband was resting in their hotel room during that memorable luncheon in Lake Placid, where village clerks from across New York State gather for a conference.
Even Seal, who’s served as Patchogue Village clerk since 2005, was about to pack it up after eating.
Her friend Marianne Lobaccaro implored her to stay.
Then came the big announcement; their hosts started talking about the yet-to-be-named 2018 Clerk of the Year.
“This clerk became a village trustee in 2004 …”
“And in my head I thought, I wonder who else started on that route?” said Seal. “Then I said, I think they’re talking about me!”
They were.
“My entire body was shaking,” she said in an interview earlier this month. “I was crying. I was just so beyond. That was a Tuesday, so for the rest of the week [at the convention] everybody was just congratulating me. People I didn’t even know.”
Seal returned to Patchogue to fanfare among the village staffers, along with a congratulatory banner that now hangs in the clerk’s office.
The afterglow lasted for weeks.
Lobaccaro, a friend and village administrator in North Hills, had nominated her for the honor.
“She possesses qualities that make her a beautiful person inside and out,” Lobaccaro wrote. “Even though her direct efforts have been critical in the success of her endeavors, she comments that ‘it takes a village to accomplish these goals,’ thereby deflecting her own involvement and giving credit to all involved.”
Aside from being named Clerk of the Year, it’s been a big year for Seal for other reasons.
Having worked with Mayor Paul Pontieri from the start of his administration, she sat proudly as the findings of a glowing economic report on the village’s progress during that time was unveiled at Patchogue Theatre in December.
Read: Patchogue’s comeback has generated $693M in economic output
“Obviously, that is probably the highlight of the year, what came out with the economic impact study,” she said. “I was sitting in the theater that day just beaming with pride.”
Allow her to deflect. “People ask me all the time, ‘How do you do it in Patchogue?’” she said. “I have nothing to do with it; I can’t take credit for any of the revitalization. But what I continue to say is, [Mayor Paul Pontieri] is not afraid to say yes; build it and they will come.”
What Seal does take some credit for her ability to problem-solve and help her constituents, along with her warm and friendly, hardworking staff.
“I wanted that feeling of family [among the clerk’s office staffers] and being on the same team and helping each other out no matter what — and that’s exactly what happened,” she said.
“And I’ve always loved to help people,” Seal added. “I’m very good at talking people off the ledge. I like to be able to diffuse a situation … and turn that person around to have them leave with a better experience. That’s the most rewarding experience in the world. And I”m pretty good at it.”
Seal also announced this year that she’ll be retiring in June of 2020.
She hopes to continue helping people by selling homes, here or elsewhere.
“My plan is to get my real estate license, travel, not be as tied to the five days a week thing,” she said. “I do love people and I love to help people. That’s the best part of the job, to be able to make a difference in someone’s life, for whatever reason … To squashing a ticket over a mistake, to making someone understand the new sewer project on the south end.”
No matter where she ends up, you can bet that Clerk of the Year plaque won’t end up stuffed in a box somewhere.
“It was the honor of my life, along with becoming a mom and a wife,” she said.
“I’m not doing anything to get an honor, but when it happens,” she added, while rubbing her forearm, “it’s goosebumps worthy.”
Top: Patti Seal in her office at Village Hall this month. (Credit: Michael White)
