Durham, NC – Durham County Chairman Fred Foster, Jr. recently received the “Practitioner” designation from the Local Elected Leaders Academy (LELA). LELA, a partnership with the School of Government at University of North Carolina at-Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, offers local elected officials the knowledge and skills needed to lead and govern their communities in these challenging times.

Chairman Foster formally received his certificate of completion at the 106th Annual Conference of NCACC on August 24th in Guilford County. The “Practitioner” designation is awarded once participants complete a minimum of 48 credits in classes covering ethics, essentials of county government, mini-workshops on specific subjects such as finance, county law, administration, leadership and more.

LELA helps the Association achieve its strategic goals, including "strengthening county leadership and board development" and "facilitating regional and intergovernmental collaboration." There are 3 levels of the program that may be achieved: Practitioner, Master and Mentor. Each level requires more in-depth study and additional credit hours. Chairman Foster joins Vice Chairman Brenda Howerton as the second Durham County Commissioner to participate in the program since its launch in 2008.

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