Governor Cooper Announces 25 New Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Governor Roy Cooper today announced 25 more appointments and elections to North Carolina commissions and boards.

“I appreciate that North Carolinians from a variety of walks of life have agreed to help our state by serving on these boards and commissions,” Gov. Cooper said.

To the Board of Trustees of the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees, Gov. Cooper has named:  

• Kim Hargett as an At-large Member. Hargett, of Marshville, was appointed as the teacher representative for the NC State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees Board of Trustees in 2012. She taught elementary school for 28 years.

To the North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners, Gov. Cooper has named:  

• Arthur Winstead as a Certified Accountant Member. Winstead is a Greensboro native. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Financial Forensic, and holds the designation of Chartered Global Management of Accountant. Art is the current A&A Consultant-Director for CPAmerica International. 

To the State Property Tax Commission, Gov. Cooper has appointed:

• Judge Robert C. Hunter, of Marion. Judge Hunter served for sixteen years on the NC Court of Appeals, and is currently a Justice on the Supreme Court of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.  He received his law degree from the University of North Carolina, and has held leadership roles in State and Local Bar Associations.  
• Charles W. Penny, of Rocky Mount. A retired city manager from Rocky Mount, Penny has more than three decades of experience in local government across the state, including extensive experience in city finance and budgeting. He attended NC Central University and received a Master’s in Public Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.  

To the North Carolina Local Government Commission, Gov. Cooper has named: 

• Mayor Scott Padgett as a Current or Former Municipal Mayor or Board Member. Padgett has served as the mayor of Concord for 16 years and previously served on the Concord City Council. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce. 
• Viola Harris as a Current or Former County Commissioner Member. Harris is the current Commissioner of Edgecombe County and a previous member of the Local Government Commission. She is also the Chair of the North Carolina Alliance of Black Elected Officials. 
• Josh Bass as a Public Member of the Local Government Commission. Bass, of Moyock, currently serves as president of Currituck Chamber of Commerce where he earned Outstanding Chamber of the Year Award in 2015 by the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. 

To the North Carolina Railroad Board of Directors, Gov. Cooper has named:

• Michael Weisel, JD, of Raleigh, as an at-large member. A graduate of the Campbell University School of Law, Mr. Weisel is an attorney and a managing member of the Capital Law Group. He was a corporate Director and Secretary of the North Carolina Railroad Company from 1999 to 2004.
• William “Bill” Kincheloe, of Rocky Mount, as an at-large member. Mr. Kincheloe is an active rail supporter and has professional connections with the managers of many rail operators, including Amtrak. He has served as Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors and is also founder and president of Wildwood Lamps and Accents, Inc, a home furnishings company.
• Mayor William “Bill” Bell, of Durham, as an at-large member. Mayor Bell is the longest-serving mayor of Durham and previously served as a member of the Durham County Commission for 26 years. A graduate of Howard University, Mayor Bell was also in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and later received his MS in electrical engineering from New York University. 
• Martin Brackett, Jr., of Charlotte, as an at-large member. Mr. Brackett is a lawyer recognized by The Best Lawyers in America. A Charlotte native, Mr. Brackett has served on the Board of Trustees of UNC-Charlotte and chaired the Charlotte Auditorium-Coliseum-Convention Center Authority.
• Nina Szlosberg-Landis, of Raleigh, as DOT Board Member. An accomplished civic leader, Ms. Szlosberg-Landis serves on the NC Board of Transportation. She has served on a number of other boards at the local, state and national level and is president of Circle Squared Media.

To the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Gov. Cooper has named:

• Wes Seegars, of Goldsboro, as appointee for the Third District. Mr. Seegars is CEO of Seegars Fence Company, the oldest family-owned-and-operated fence company in the Mid-Atlantic. A community leader for decades, Seegars has served on the board of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce among other organizations.
• Monty Crump, of Rockingham, as appointee for the Sixth District. A longtime resident of the Yadkin Pee Dee River Region, Mr. Crump has extensive experience with the resource and wildlife issues facing his district. He is city manager for Rockingham and also owns and operates a local farm.
• Brad Stanback for the 9th District. Stanback, of Canton, serves on the Board of Directors for both Revive & Restore and the American Chestnut Foundation, where he was awarded Conservationist of the Year in 2008. In addition, he owns and manages a 1,300-acre research farm in the Southern Appalachians.
• Dave Hoyle, Jr. as an At-large Member. Hoyle lives in Dallas, where he operates Hoyle Appraisal Services and Land Development and also serves on the NC Heritage Committee. He previously served on the NC Wildlife Commission for 13 years. 
• Hayden Rogers as an At-large Member. Rogers, of Brasstown, served as the District 9 Commissioner of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He is currently a registered federal lobbyist serving as Senior Democrat for both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

To the North Carolina Arts Council, Gov. Cooper has named the following:

• John Willingham, of Yadkinville. A current member of the Council, Willingham also serves as President of the NC Arts Council Foundation, a separate organization which supports the Arts Council’s mission. He attended Yale where he received a BA in Economics. Willingham is the current President of the Yadkin Arts Council and played a crucial role in the creation of the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center.  
• Chad Cheek, from Kernersville. First appointed to the Council in 2014, Creek also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. He received an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University, and owns Elephant In The Room, a graphic design and brand management firm based in Winston Salem.  
• Lynne Boney. A Wilmington native, Boney attended the UNC School of the Arts for voice. She has sung with Opera Carolina and the Des Moines Metro Opera. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission, and is a long-time resident of the Wilmington Historic District.
• Lou Anne Crumpler, of Raleigh. Crumpler serves as State Director of No Kid Hungry North Carolina, a program which works to ensure that needy kids across NC have access to federally-funded meals both in and outside of school. She is involved with several community arts programs, including Kidznotes, PineCone, Artsplosure Spring Festival, and First Night Raleigh.
• Carroll Dashiell. Dashiell lives in Greenville and is an Associate Professor of Music at East Carolina University where he also serves as Director of Jazz Ensembles and String/Electric Bass. He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music from Howard University and has produced or performed on more than 35 national and international recordings. 
• Libby Rodenbough. A member of the NC-based bluegrass band Mipso, Rodenbough sings and plays fiddle at performances across the country. She attended UNC-Chapel Hill and previously worked at the North Carolina Folklife Institute and on Music City Roots, a live radio program.  She lives in Hillsborough.
• John Russell, of Candler. Russell is Executive Director of the Montford Park Players, an Asheville based Shakespeare Festival. He attended the University of North Carolina and earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke. He plays an active role in several theater organizations, including the Institute of Outdoor Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre Association, and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.  
• Sejal Mehta, of Raleigh, currently serves on the Board of Directors of Raleigh Little Theater. She has previously served on the Board of Directors and Fiction Staff of the Raleigh Review. Mehta received her film education from New York University, and has helped produce several short films and commercials. She also holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.