Brown named Halifax County Manager

“Tony has proven to be a valuable and effective leader for the county who has served us quite well in any situation and capacity that has arisen,” stated Chairman of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners, Gene Minton, in announcing the appointment of Tony N. Brown as new County Manager.

“I am humbled and honored the Commissioners have chosen to allow me to remove the ‘Interim’ from my title. I have seen many positive changes in Halifax County over the eleven years I have been here and I am dedicated to continuing to move the County in the right direction. I would like to sincerely thank the County Commissioners for their faith in me and I commit to them and the citizens of Halifax County that I will do my best to make our community a better place to live, work and play,” Brown said in accepting the position.

The announcement comes after an extended recruitment period following the resignation of former County Manager Matthew Delk, who departed in October 2007. The county board was unanimous in its decision to offer the job to Brown. When informing the Observer of the decision, after Brown had accepted the offer, county Commissioner J. Rives Manning, Jr. said that he was pleased with the fact that Brown was selected after eleven years with the county.  Manning said one of the factors in his selection was the outstanding job Brown has done while Delk was fulfilling his Army duties and as serving as the Interim County Manager. 

Chairman Minton said “We are pleased that he has accepted our offer and look forward to his leadership as the county moves forward in our quest for excellence in all areas.” 

Brown has had extensive work experience already in Halifax County. He was the Acting County Manager during Delks’ 19-month deployment period from 2003-2005.

Brown’s previous employment includes coming to Halifax County in 1997 as the Human Resources Director, and with Human Resources experience in both the City of Wilmington and Orange County, NC, as Employment Coordinator at West Valley-Mission Community College District in the San Jose area of California.

He is also a military veteran from both the Active Duty and Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. While on active duty with the rank of Captain in the U.S. Air Force, he was the Personnel Programs Officer, Travis AFB, CA.  While in the Air Force reserves he served as Chief of Military Equal Opportunity at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC.

Brown is a graduate of the County/Municipal Administration course from the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and graduate coursework from Golden Gate University in Human Organizational Development.

He was promoted to deputy county manager in 2003.  In 2006 he was named Assistant County Manager of the Year for North Carolina.  The honor came during the 2006 summer conference of the North Carolina City & County Management Association. 

Brown accepted the offer and will transition into his new role immediately.