The Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and the Virginia Cooperative Extension recognized the 13th graduating class of the Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program on November 13 during VACo’s 84th Annual Conference in Bath County.
The Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program is a partnership between the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech and VACo to provide training to enhance the leadership and decision-making skills of county supervisors in the Commonwealth.
The six graduates of the 18-month certification program are:
Norman G. Dill | Albemarle County | Photo
Kenneth Adam Kidd | Bland County | Photo
Robert McCraw | Carroll County
Christopher McDonald | Virginia Association of Counties | Photo
Thomas H. Sayre | Warren County | Photo
Jerry R. Townsend | Prince Edward County | Photo
The Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program was created to provide VACo members more in-depth knowledge about government and governing.
“Congratulations to our newest graduates on completing one of VACo’s premier educational programs,” VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch said. “We now have more than 75 graduates from more than 40 counties since the program’s first class in 2006. I was proud to join the ranks of other graduates in 2016, and I can attest that this is a master’s degree level program. I encourage more supervisors to participate in this unique educational program.”
Virginia Cooperative Extension partners with Virginia Tech and VACo to develop and deliver the program. “This program is a great example of Virginia Cooperative Extension growing its partnership with an organization to strengthen the impact of our community viability efforts and to collaborate with other agencies to provide leadership education,” said Dr. Michael Chandler, Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech and one of the program’s instructors, along with Dr. Martha Walker, Extension Viability Specialist.
The Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program provides an overview of the issues, expectations, and practices associated with serving as a county supervisor as well as detailed information about local government. Each participant completes five core courses that span 55 hours of classroom instruction and 45 hours of home study and focus on leadership development, duties and responsibilities of public officials, community planning, local government finance, and collaborative governance.
For more information about the County Supervisor Certification Program, contact Angela Inglett at ainglett@vaco.org or 804.343.2504.