In a modest, strikingly neat office in the Centre County Courthouse sits a man who thinks balance in life is important. The office appears to reflect the harmony he says he tries to keep not only in his job, but throughout his family life as well.

As Lawrence C. Bickford, director of administrative services for Centre County, talked of his wife and two sons, he said positively, "They're my priority, not work, but I do think about work a lot."

Bickford said he keeps his priorities straight in order to maintain balance.

"Once you lose sight of your priorities, you lose balance. And when you lose balance in your life, you're not as effective as you could be," he said.

In addition to being director of administrative services for the county, Bickford is also the elections supervisor and chief clerk.

As elections supervisor, Bickford oversees all of the responsibilities involved during an election such as setting up polling places and staffing those with election workers, Bickford said.

"People just kind of take voting for granted," he said. "Logistically, it's very intensive to prepare for an election."

The chief clerk title is a statutory responsibility required by the Pennsylvania constitution, Bickford added.

Sitting behind his desk, Bickford reflected on his role in county government with ease and enthusiasm.

"I serve at the pleasure of the commissioners," he said noting that he is not an elected official, but is appointed by the board of commissioners.

"I am not a policy maker," he stressed. "I do however, make recommendations to the board on policy."

Bickford acts as a liaison between the Centre County Commissioners and the department heads of the various service boards of the county. "He is the coordinating link," said County Commissioner Vicki Bumbarger.

"He is able to coordinate the many activities that come before the board," she added.

Bumbarger also described Bickford as honest, efficient and able to get the job done.

"He can keep a lot of balls in the air without letting them fall," she said.

Bickford graduated from Penn State in 1971 with a bachelor of science degree in what is now called administration of justice. His first job was as an adult and juvenile probation officer for Centre County.

After three or four years in the probation and parole office, Bickford recalled, "I started to sense some burnout." He said he felt as though his efforts were not yielding any results.

In 1976, Bickford became the first lay court administrator. The late Judge R. Paul Campbell, then president judge, appointed Bickford as the first non-lawyer to work as a court administrator -- a move Bickford said he spent two years convincing Campbell to take.

Bickford held that position for 11 years until he was appointed by the commissioners to his current position.

Today, in his capacity as director of administrative services, Bickford said he sees himself as acting on behalf of the commissioners.

"I see myself as assisting the board, identifying policies and formulating policies, and then most importantly --implementing policies."

Centre County Commissioner John Saylor said Bickford "is playing a very important role" in county government because he was chosen for his administrative skills to manage about 540 employees.

The department heads who report to Bickford have confidence in him because of his honesty and ethics, Saylor said.

"I'm involved in activities that affect every one of those employees," Bickford said.

He added that one of his primary responsibilities is the fiscal management of the county's $24 million budget. County employees compose about 70 percent of that budget because "government is services," he said. "Services are the county employees that work in government."

Bickford stressed that county government provides such human services as the protection of rights, health services and services for the youth and the aging.

"When you really start looking at the variety of services that are offered, county government is the most important governmental structure," he said. "As a consequence, I'm not only challenged, but grateful that I work in county government."

Bickford said he feels that through his job he is able to have an impact on county government because he works with the commissioners every day and watches the challenges they have to deal with.

"I like the fact that in government I'm making a difference," Bickford said, adding assuringly: "I like what I'm doing."