Freeport’s award-winning town clerk, Tracey Stevens, will leave her job on May 27 to become town clerk in Melbourne Beach, Fla.

Stevens, who has been town clerk in Freeport for three years, said that she and her husband, Jacob, want to be near their oldest daughter, Kaela, who moved to that area of east central Florida a few months ago.

“When she started looking, I started getting serious,” Stevens said Monday. “I have the job in Melbourne Beach, and we’ve already got a house. The minute I get home on the 27th, I’m going to be helping my husband pack the U-haul truck.”

Stevens, named 2014 Clerk of the Year by the Maine Town & City Clerks Association, is the second person in the Freeport Town Hall to leave a high-profile position this year. Abbe Yacoben, who also won awards for her work as finance director, left in January.

For most of her tenure in Freeport, Stevens made the hour-plus commute to Freeport from her home in Fairfield Center. She and her family cut that trip in half earlier this year, moving into a home in Augusta.

Stevens said the decision wasn’t all easy.

“I loved Freeport and that’s why this was such a tough decision for me,” she said. “But family won out.”

Stevens said she looks forward to warmer climes.

“We were on vacation there last week, house hunting,” she said. “It got up to 90 and I loved it.”

Stevens has worked closely with Mary Howe, deputy town clerk, whose office is next door to hers. Howe doesn’t want to see Stevens go.

“She’s been a joy to work for,” Howe said. “She’s one of the most thoughtful and considerate people that I’ve ever known. She’s respected my position as deputy clerk, and never lorded over me as a superior. We work well together. Our personalities mesh.”

Howe said that Stevens’ leaving will be a great loss for the town, and that the standard for the position of town clerk has been set high.

The Clerk of the Year Award is presented to a municipal clerk who is nominated by his or her peers, and recognizes the clerk’s excellence both in contributions to the community, as well as to the profession of the municipal clerk. The award is the highest annual honor bestowed by the statewide association.

Town Manager Peter Joseph said at the time that Stevens often could be seen in her office working on her own time.

“Tracey has routinely provided the residents of Freeport with an exceptional level of customer service,” Joseph said. “She has exhibited tremendous dedication, leadership, and passion for her work and this brings respect to her office, as well as to the town as a whole. We are very fortunate to have her on our team.”

Stevens was first vice president of the Maine Town & City Clerks Association, and chairwoman of the Legislative Policy Committee.

A 1989 graduate of Messalonskee High School in Oakland, Stevens earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Thomas College. She became town clerk in Fairfield in 2004, then took the job in Freeport in 2012.

The town is advertising the position. Stevens was earning $52,944 a year.

Mary Howe, deputy town clerk in Freeport, left, says she will miss Tracey Stevens when Stevens leaves her job as town clerk on May 27.Courtesy photo