RICHMOND (November 15, 2017)—The Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and the Virginia Cooperative Extension recognized the 12th graduating class of the Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program on November 14 during VACo’s 83rd 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 10 graduates of the 18-month certification program are:
- Joel C. Acree | Isle of Wight County
- Jessie L. Barksdale | Pittsylvania County
- Keith C. Blowe | Sussex County
- Claudia Hubbard Lundy | Mecklenburg County
- Bill Martin | Greene County
- Allison B. Mays | Washington County
- William M. McCarty, Sr. | Isle of Wight County
- Larry Nordvig | Powhatan County
- Odessa H. Pride, Ed.D | Prince Edward County
- Richard F. Randolph | Albemarle County
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,” said Dean Lynch, VACo Executive Director. “We now have more than 70 graduates from more than 40 counties since the program’s first class in 2006. I was proud to join the ranks of other graduates last year, 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 Chris McDonald at cmcdonald@vaco.org or 804.343.2503.
Click here to view the Press Release and Past Graduates of the Program