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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government presented awards to public officials from Rutherford County and Kitty Hawk as part of its April 23 graduation ceremony for the 2008–2009 Municipal and County Administration Course.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government presented awards to public officials from Rutherford County and Kitty Hawk as part of its April 23 graduation ceremony for the 2008–2009 Municipal and County Administration Course.

  heard
 
 Joe Heard

Joe Heard, director of planning and inspections for the Town of Kitty Hawk, received the George C. Franklin Award during the ceremony. The N.C. League of Municipalities presents the award in honor of the League’s former general counsel, George C. Franklin, to the class member with the most distinguished record in the Municipal Administration Course. Heard was one of 65 officials who graduated from the Municipal Administration Course in 2009 and is one of more than 2,600 officials who have completed the course since it began in 1954.

searcy  
 Danny Searcy
 

The Edwin M. Gill Award went to Danny Searcy, county planner for Rutherford County. The Gill award is presented each year by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners in honor of Edwin M. Gill, former State Treasurer and chairman of the N.C. Local Government Commission, to the class member with the most distinguished record in the County Administration Course. Searcy was one of 33 officials who graduated from the County Administration Course in 2009 and is one of more than 1,250 officials who have completed the course since it began in 1964.

The Municipal and County Administration Course is an intensive, eight-month program designed for city and county managers, department heads, and other city or county officials whose responsibilities require an understanding of functions beyond individual areas of specialization. Major areas of instruction include local government law, organization and management, finance and budgeting, public employment law, planning and regulation development, and municipal and county services. Participants are provided with a legal framework and practical application in these areas through lecture, case studies, and group work. The goal of the course is for participants to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the relationship among the broad range of departments that make up local governments.

 “If there was ever a time when local governments need to be ‘on their game,’ this is it,” said Mike Smith, dean of the School of Government, in addressing the graduates. “I hope that, after completing this rigorous course of study, you feel better prepared to help your communities with the many challenges facing our state today.”

School of Government contacts: Greg Allison, Municipal and County Administration Course director, (919) 966-4376, allison@sog.unc.edu; Ellen Bradley, director of marketing and communications, (919) 843-6527 or bradley@sog.unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu

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