Farmville 801 District Supervisor and Board Vice Chairman Pattie Cooper-Jones of the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors was given a Supervisor Service Award from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) last Tuesday for 10 years of dedicated service to county government. Cooper-Jones recently completed the Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program through VACo.

“I think it was probably one of the better things I could do being a board member because I learned so much from the class, so it was really a plus for me to be there,” Cooper-Jones said.

According to County Administrator Wade Bartlett, to finish the programs supervisors must pass various exams and go to classes.

“It takes a year or two to go through the whole process,” Bartlett said. “It covers everything from zoning to finances and budgeting and all other information in between of topics that a board member might see during their term.”

Bartlett said it’s meant to train board members from what they’ll see and to have some background knowledge especially in areas of planning, zoning and budgeting.

According to a VACo brochure of the program, VACo — in partnership with Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension — offers county supervisors an opportunity to enhance their capacity to effectively and efficiently lead their respective counties by participating in the Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program.
“The Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program features a five-course curriculum,” officials said in the brochure. “Each course begins with a six-hour classroom session that is topically driven and reflective of the subject matter being covered.”

The brochure cited that following the session is an eight-week home study period.

“Each course participant is assigned relevant articles and books and completes assignments drawn from the readings on a weekly basis,” officials said in the brochure. “The final component is a concluding six-hour classroom session.”