Brunswick County commissioner sworn in as 105th NCACC president

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Commissioner Frank Williams was sworn in as the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) president over the weekend, becoming the first from Brunswick County to hold the office.

During the NCACC’s 144th annual conference on Saturday, the organization swore in Williams and also elected other key leaders. Upon taking office, Williams announced his year-long initiative “100 Counties Prepared,” focusing on equipping county commissioners to effectively lead their communities in the case of emergency.

“It is an honor to represent Brunswick County on the state level, and my experiences in Brunswick County shaped my presidential initiative,” said Williams in a press release from NCACC. “One of our association’s most important responsibilities is to provide commissioners with training and tools to help us do our jobs more effectively. I cannot think of a more important topic than how to effectively lead when our citizens need us most: during an emergency.”

The initiative plans to develop a training and education program and compile emergency readiness resources for county commissioners. It also aims to help county commissioners engage with emergency management partners to foster strategic relationships. Williams says the idea came after he first took office with the NCACC just weeks before Hurricane Florence devastated Brunswick County.

“Three weeks after I got sworn in as second vice president, Hurricane Florence came,” said Williams. “I was chair of our board, grew up here so it was not my first hurricane, but it was my first as chair of our Brunswick County Board of Commissioners. I just saw that there was so little training for elected officials on how to deal with an emergency situation.”

Williams is in his third term as a member of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners and served as chair for four years, including during Hurricanes Florence, Dorian and Isaias. He also serves as chair of the Cape Fear Rural Planning Organization Transportation Advisory Committee and on the board of the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO). He previously served on the board of Brunswick Business & Industry Development (Brunswick BID).

Williams was elected NCACC 2nd Vice President in August 2018 and has served as 1st Vice President, President-Elect, and Chair of the NCACC General Government Steering Committee. He has also served on the National Association of Counties, International Economic Development Task Force, Broadband Task Force and Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee.

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