The Club was delighted to host David Petrille, Jr. the Bucks County Register of WIlls and Clerk of the Orphans Court.
Club president Jeff Revak greeted David at breakfast
David has been a licensed Pennsylvania attorney for more than 20 years, primarily representing businesses and their shareholders as they wrestle with complex issues in today’s ever-changing legal environment. Whether helping an entrepreneur organize a first business venture or counseling an established business on corporate governance issues, contract law, human resource issues or creditors’ rights, or helping with a sale or acquisition, he has spent his career helping small-business owners succeed. I have a varied client base in diverse industries such as real estate management, alternative energy, market research, telecommunications, construction and software development.
An active member of the community, David is a director of Discover Dublin, Inc., a community development organization whose mission is to improve the residential and business communities in Dublin, PA, Bucks County, and the surrounding, an associate member of the Ottsville Volunteer Fire Company, where I serve on its new substation committee, has volunteered his services for the Living Hope Community Church and emergency management associations and has served as the solicitor for the Bucks County Department of Health.
David made an interesting enlightening presentation
about the functions of the various so-called "row offices" in Bucks County. Each of the county's nine row officers is elected at large in the county for a four-year term. As specified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania law, row officers include the following: Clerk of Courts, Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, Register of Wills, Sheriff and Treasurer. The title of row officer came about in the early years of the constitution when the departments were first listed in a row on the election ballot. Their services might be more familiar to residents than their actual office titles – Residents get passports, marriage licenses, and death certificates from these offices. Dog and hunting licenses are issued, as well as sportsman firearm registrations. Row officers prosecute cases, maintain the county's auditing responsibility, and enforce the law in court matters.
He also spoke about the County's efforts to preserve, including the digitalization, of its records, some of which deate back to 1684!