Blackwell steps down from Cumberland County Board

J. Breeden Blackwell, who served as NCACC president in 2004-05 and was awarded the Outstanding County Commissioner Award in 2002, resigned his position on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners at the end of January in order to accept a position as government relations director with the Cape Fear Valley Health System.

Blackwell was nearing the end of his third term on the Cumberland County board and was serving on the Cape Fear Board of Trustees.

During his term as NCACC president, Blackwell spearheaded the effort to find a successor to Ron Aycock, who retired in 2005 after 28 years as the Association's executive director. The search brought David F. Thompson, a former county manager in four North Carolina counties, to the position.

Blackwell served several years on the NCACC Risk Management Pools Board of Trustees, and co-chaired an NCACC task force that examined the fiscal relationship between counties and the state. He was also instrumental in working with state leaders during the 2004-05 Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) to maintain North Carolina's strong military presence. He recently served as a member of the Governor's Local Government Advisory Committee.

Blackwell is a retired and award-winning principal. He was inducted into North Carolina's Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2003.

Two other past NCACC presidents, Danny Wright of Vance County (1997-98) and Bobby Greer of New Hanover County (1998-99), have announced they will not seek re-election in November.