The Local Elected Leaders Academy, a partnership between the UNC School of Government and NCACC, offers local elected officials the knowledge and skills needed to lead and govern their communities.
County commissioners are recognized for their participation in both educational programs and service to the Association. The starting place for earning credits is the orientation program, Essentials of County Government. As commissioners continue their education and service, they earn credits toward recognition at three levels: Practitioner, Master and Mentor. The NCACC tracks credits and recognizes participation every year at the Annual Conference.
As of August 2021, 164 commissioners have received recognition through the LELA program. Listed below are the commissioners and the highest level of recognition attained and year attained.
- Mentors (47)
Kevin Austin, Yadkin County (2012)
Bertadean Baker, Warren County (2017)
Jonathan Barfield, Jr., New Hanover County (2011)
Kitty Barnes, Catawba County (2016)
Lisa Barnes, Nash County (2015)
Ernestine Bazemore, Bertie County (2016)
Ronnie Beale, Macon County (2015)
Gary D. Blevins, Wilkes County (2012)
Dempsey Bond, Martin County (2014)
Vernon Bryant, Halifax County (2016)
Trent Burroughs, Columbus County (2015)
Johnnie Carswell, Burke County (2016)
Larry Chapman, Transylvania County (2016)
Jimmy Clayton, Person County (2017)
Marty Cooke, Brunswick County (2016)
Amy Dalrymple, Lee County (2017)
Beth Dawson, New Hanover County (2015)
Fannie Greene, Northampton County (2016)
Mike Hawkins, Transylvania County (2015)
Diane Honeycutt, Cabarrus County (2016)
Brenda Howerton, Durham County (2012)
Leon Inman, Stokes County (2015)
Wendy Jacobs, Durham County (2016)
Steve Jarvis, Davidson County (2015)
Tracey A. Johnson, Washington County (2013)
Page Lemel, Transylvania County (2016)
Keith Mabe, Rockingham County (2015)
Carol McCall, Scotland County (2015)
Fred McClure, Davidson County (2015)
Charles McDowell, Columbus County (2015)
Stephen Morris, Cabarrus County (2016)
David Owen, Caswell County (2019)
Ted Owens, Polk County (2013)
Larry Phillips, Surry County (2016)
Judy Porter Poe, Ashe County (2013)
Renee Price, Orange County (2014)
Ellen Reckhow, Durham County (2017)
Mark Richardson, Rockingham County (2016)
Edwin Russ, Columbus County (2016)
Ronnie Smith, Martin County (2014)
Tom Smith, Alleghany County (2016)
Gordon Springle, Harnett County (2017)
Pat Sykes, Brunswick County (2017)
Maynard Taylor, Burke County (2021)
Glen Webb, Pitt County (2015)
Ronald Wesson, Bertie County (2018)
Frank Williams, Brunswick County (2017)
Robert Wisecarver, Davie County (2014)
- Masters (30)
Mary Accor, Cleveland County (2011)
Michael Benfield, Rutherford County (2017)
Wayne Brigman, Madison County (2019)
Bob Davis, Scotland County (2016)
Sidney Dunston, Franklin County (2020)
Jason Falls, Cleveland County (2017)
Ray Gasperson, Polk County (2016)
Nathaniel Hall, Caswell County (2016)
Viola Harris, Edgecombe County (2018)
Richard Helms, Union County (2017)
Ann Holton, Pamlico County (2015)
Ray Jeffers, Person County (2015)
Jerry Jones, Greene County (2015)
Tim Karan, Granville County (2017)
Patti Kersey, Chowan County (2020)
Tammy Lee, Bertie County (2017)
J. Rives Manning Jr., Halifax County (2019)
Brian McMahan, Jackson County (2015)
Lorraine Meltz, Cherokee County (2014)
David Moxley, Yadkin County (2017)
Connie Orr, Graham County (2017)
Howard Penny, Harnett County (2019)
Mary Perkins-Williams, Pitt County (2017)
D. Cole Phelps, Washington County (2017)
Jennifer Jordan Pierce, Warren County (2020)
Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, Mecklenburg County (2020)
Kirk Smith, Lee County (2016)
Allen Thomas, Hoke County (2018)
Mary P. Wells, Nash County (2016)
Gloria Whisenhunt, Forsyth County (2016)
Jarvis T. Woodburn, Anson County (2021)
- Practitioners (76)
Susan Allen, Cleveland County (2017)
Vance Aydlett, Jr., Currituck County (2015)
Joseph Barrett, Northampton County (2015)
Anna Baucom, Anson County (2016)
Joe Belcher, Buncombe County (2017)
Royce Bennett, Onslow County (2020)
Roland Best, Lenoir County (2017)
Susan Blizzard, Greene County (2020)
Ed Booth, Beaufort County (2019)
Gary Brinn, Beaufort County (2017)
Jeffrey C. Brittain, Burke County (2019)
Jackie Brown, Lenoir County (2016)
Dan Brummitt, Vance County (2021)
Jim Burgin, Harnett County (2015)
Bob Byrd, Alamance County (2017)
Heidi Carter, Durham County (2021)
Kay Cashion, Guilford County (2021)
Michael Caskey, Rowan County (2017)
Robin Comer, Carteret County (2015)
Jeannette Council, Cumberland County (2021)
Larry Cox, Alleghany County (2014)
James G. Crawford, Chatham County (2019)
Mike Cross, Chatham County (2015)
Ron Cummings, Chowan County (2019)
Joe Daughtery, Wayne County (2016)
Robbie Davis, Nash County (2020)
Jesse Dowe, Duplin County (2017)
Chris Elliott, Davidson County (2021)
Frank Emory, Jones County (2014)
J. Owen Etheridge, Currituck County (2011)
Charles Evans, Cumberland County (2017)
Mark Evans, Alleghany County (2020)
Tommy Everett, Tyrrell County (2017)
Charles Farley, Pitt County (2016)
Fred Foster Jr., Durham County (2013)
Ricky Frazier, Lee County (2015)
Mark Gillespie, Bladen County (2014)
Ted Godwin, Johnston County (2020)
Vern Grindstaff, Mitchell County (2017)
Diana Hales, Chatham County (2017)
Richard Hayes, Lee County (2010)
Hope Haywood, Randolph County (2020)
Craig Hill, Lenoir County (2016)
Sue Hinman, Granville County (2021)
Karen Howard, Chatham County (2017)
Johnny Hutchins, Cleveland County (2021)
Sig Hutchinson, Wake County (2017)
Ronda Jones, Stokes County (2017)
Henry Jordan, Gates County (2016)
Leo Kelly, Vance County (2018)
Zack Koonce, Jones County (2014)
Jerry Langley, Beaufort County (2017)
James Leach, Hoke County (2017)
Cecelia Martin, Lincoln County (2016)
Jim Matheny, Montgomery County (2015)
John May, Franklin County (2016)
C.B. McKinnon, Cherokee County (2019)
Garry Meiggs, Camden County (2017)
Brian McClellan, Macon County (2011)
Barbara McKoy, Harnett County (2018)
Lionell Midgett, Onslow County (2014)
John Mitchener, Chowan County (2018)
D. Keith Nixon, Chowan County (2013)
Julius Owens, Rutherford County (2013)
Bernadette Pelissier, Orange County (2014)
Elaine Powell, Mecklenburg County (2021)
Pat Prescott, Pamlico County (2019)
Penny Rich, Orange County (2015)
Stony Rushing, Union County (2017)
Ella Scarborough, Mecklenburg County (2017)
Johnnie Sampson, Craven County (2016)
Eddie Settle, Wilkes County (2016)
James Shackleford, Jr., Greene County (2017)
Steve Shell, Davidson County (2018)
Jerry Simpson, Union County (2015)
Bill Smith, Carteret County (2015)
James G. Smith, Bladen County (2013)
Thomas Thompson, Henderson County (2016)
John Trent, Bertie County (2017)
Steve Tyson, Craven County (2018)
Frankie Waters, Beaufort County (2017)
Kent Williamson, Caswell County (2016)
Thomas Wolfe, New Hanover County (2014)
Larry Yoder, Alexander County (2021)
Rob Zapple, New Hanover County (2016)