“Service above Self” is a motto that Elizabethtown junior Johnathon Boles tries to live by.

“Sometimes you have to, for the betterment of the group that you are a part of, rise above that and provide service,” Boles said.

Boles’ self-proclaimed mantra comes from the motto of his high school’s Interact club.

The Interact club is the Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 14 to 18, according to the Rotary Foundation Web site.

Boles, the former Student Government Association president, has decided to run for Hardin County clerk after he graduates from Western in December.

“I prayed about and it’s taken me a couple of months to decide what to do and what I need to do,” he said.

The Hardin County Clerk’s Office provides services such as recording deeds, mortgages, and other legal documents, or vehicle transactions and registrations, according to the office’s Web site.

His biggest challenge would be representing the thousands of people in the county, he said.

Boles said he told his parents about his decision to run this week.

Johnathon Boles’ father, Charlie Boles, said he and his wife, Debbie Boles, are still letting the news soak in about Johnathon’s decision to run. But it’s not really a surprise to them.

Charlie Boles said that when Johnathon Boles was about four or five years old, he told his parents that he wanted to be a teacher.

“I know that to him being a teacher is his concrete way to be a service to people,” Charlie Boles said.

Charlie Boles said his son has always been involved in politics, even at an early age. He started the Teenage Republicans club at his high school and was the president of his high school Interact club.

“No one would be better to hold an office than Johnathon,” he said. “He has been someone who has been dedicated to giving back.”

Skylar Jordan, SGA executive vice president, said Johnathon Boles is a great guy and was a very thorough SGA president.

“The people of Hardin County can be assured that Johnathon would run the office right,” Jordan said.

Charley Pride, director of student activities and organizations, said Johnathon Boles is a hard worker and he has no doubt that his desire to help people qualifies him for the position.

He said he thinks Johnathon Boles’ biggest challenge will be learning to work with people other than students and administrators.

“He will put his utmost effort into it,” Pride said.

Johnathon Boles said the county clerk’s office needs someone who is excited, driven and has a zeal to serve.

“I just have a passion for this,” he said.

If elected, he would serve for four years, Boles said.