June 18, 2008

Bradley is being recognized and thanked for leading the effort to make the County’s Personnel Office more customer service oriented, playing an important role in helping the entire County government in a renewed emphasis in customer service, creating new programs to promote a healthier workforce, and using new technologies over her tenure so that the Personnel Office works more efficiently and in a more environmentally friendly way.

“Debbie Bradley has brought a very personal touch to Catawba County’s human resources,” said Catawba County Manager, Tom Lundy. “Her wealth of experience and knowledge, her energy and innovation, and her concern for employees have positioned us as an employer of choice. She’s been a tireless advocate for professional personnel practices, and her creativity in areas such as employee wellness, mentoring, succession planning and leadership development are putting our organization in good stead for the future. Our organization, as well as her state association, has benefitted from her leadership. I congratulate Debbie on her almost 30 years of service to local government in North Carolina, and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her these last eight years.”

As County Personnel Director, Bradley is responsible for the recruitment and hiring of County staff, as well as the management of benefits for County personnel. She supervises a staff of eleven persons, which includes a Risk Manager, who works to manage the County’s safety and liability issues. Wellness activities are among the accomplishments Bradley ranked as most important.

“Our Employee Health Clinic has had such an impact, both for employees to get immediate care for those little things while at the same time encouraging a relationship with a personal physician, and emphasizing the importance of having a physical every year,” Bradley said. “The Clinic has also given us the ability to handle workers compensation, pre-employment screening, and enhanced wellness. It has saved employees sick leave, saved time away from work, and had a tremendous impact on our health plan. Since Catawba County is self-insured, savings we see in our health plan are a savings to our taxpayers.”

The Employee Health Clinic won a National Association of Counties Achievement Award, a North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Outstanding County Program Award, and a very prestigious Ralph Ketner Employee Productivity Award from the NCACC.

Bradley also mentioned a Leadership Development Program created by Catawba County during her tenure as Personnel Director, and a range of procedures that improved the department’s efficiency and “green” practices, as highlights.

“Our leadership development program, which includes a mentoring program that offers County employees who have more experience or seniority an opportunity to mentor a fellow employee, and the succession planning that we have put in place in several departments that could face the retirement of senior leadership in the next few years, meet many needs,” Bradley added. “These programs address the County’s needs related to retiring baby boomers and preparing for the usual turnover, and gives our employees the ability to prepare for future opportunities. I'm mentoring two people, and mentoring others helps me think about what I do, and why, and how I can work smarter.”

Online recruitment and enrollment for benefits is a great green initiative, making us more environmentally friendly,” Bradley continued. “Our Technology Department has worked hard to implement these projects. These include online enrollment for employee benefits, which eliminates the use of paper to describe benefits and programs; online training for supervisors on workplace harassment; Occupational Safety and Health Administration required training on blood borne pathogens, which saves travel from building to building and further eliminates the use of paper; and online job recruiting, which has eliminated the use of paper except for finalists for positions, and more efficiently transfers information to the persons involved in interviewing.”
Born in Aiken, South Carolina, Bradley lived for a few years in Arlington, Virginia before moving with her family to Morganton, North Carolina at the age of seven. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Appalachian State University and later a Master’s Degree in Political Science, also from Appalachian State.

Bradley began working for the City of Hickory as an Intern in the City Manager and Finance Departments in 1981. Later that year, she was named Benefits Coordinator for the City of Hickory and held that position until she was named Personnel Director for the City of Morganton in 1985. She left that position in June, 2000 to become Assistant Personnel Director for Catawba County and was named Personnel Director by Catawba County in October 2000. During her time with Catawba County, she says she has been impressed with the volunteering spirit of County staff and the quality of its leadership.

“Catawba County does so many things well. Tom Lundy is a true visionary and has so much drive and energy that he inspires us to continually learn and grow. One area that really impresses me is our ‘green’ initiative, and our recycling program. Our online recruitment and online enrollment of benefits are not obvious green initiatives, but they save lots of trees. Another is our IT Governance program, which oversees the County’s use of computer technologies, and the education we are receiving. County employees giving and support of United Way is one obvious way that our employees go above and beyond to meet community needs.”

Bradley said the recent deaths of a close friend and a relative, who both regretted not spending more time on their personal lives, led her to begin thinking about retirement. “I've had some type of job every year since age 14,” she said. “I want to continue to work two to three days a week. I sew home accessories and weave as hobbies, and want to spend more time traveling, and with family and friends. Also, I have not volunteered as much as I'd like and that is something I want to do.”

While working for the City of Morganton, Bradley was active with the Chamber of Commerce and United Way and taught classes in Public Administration and Personnel at Western Piedmont Community College. She has served as Social Action Coordinator for 67 Methodist churches in Avery, Burke, McDowell and Rutherford counties, providing training on a number of issues of importance to the Methodist Church.

Bradley served as President of the North Carolina Chapter of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources in 2006-2007. She has been very active with Catawba County’s United Way, has led several of Catawba County Government’s very successful United Way campaigns and has also served on the United Way Cabinet.

“It has been a privilege to work for Catawba County”, Bradley summarized “Tom Lundy is a true leader, and our Board of Commissioners has been very supportive in allowing staff to do our jobs. As a citizen of the county, as well as an employee, I am thankful for Tom and the Board.”