110th District Attorney Legal Assistant Penny Ogden cuts the cake celebrating her 40th year of working for Floyd County on April 11, 2022 (Ryan Crowe/FCR)
FLOYDADA – Penny Bertrand walked into the Floyd County Courthouse for her first day of work on April 14, 1982. Hired as the legal assistant to then-District Attorney Randy Hollums, she had no idea how long she would work in the DA’s office, much less in government. “When I started here I certainly didn’t do it with the intention of being here 40 years!”
On April 11, 2022 friends, colleagues and former supervisors all gathered in the northeast corner of the Floyd County Courthouse’s second floor to honor Penny, now Mrs. Penny Ogden. “You’ve been with the County longer than Larry! (Ogden’s husband)” current District Attorney Wade Jackson joked.
Ogden has been the go-to point of contact for three district attorneys: Hollums, who then moved to district Judge, Becky McPherson for 28 years, and Jackson since 2017. McPherson and Jackson both joked with Penny about working with them for as long as she had, and as anyone who knows Peggy Ogden will attest, she joked right back about them.
As the legal assistant, Jackson explained, Penny coordinates a four-county area for the 110th Judicial District – Floyd, Motley, Briscoe and Dickens. “We are certainly grateful for her service and lucky to have her,” Jackson told the Record.
Ogden has no plans of going anywhere anytime soon. “Here’s to the next 40 years!” Ogden said before commenting that her grandmother kept working until she was in her 80s. Knowing that, you’ll likely see Ogden walking into work at the Floyd County Courthouse for years to come.
