The Government and Economic Development Institute at Auburn University has announced that Cullman County Commissioner Kerry Watson has met all the requirements to be designated a graduate of the Alabama Local Government Training Institute. 

Watson joins a select group of 102 current Alabama county commissioners with this distinction. 

According to Dr. Joe Sumners, the executive director of the Government and Economic Development Institute at Auburn University and administrator of the program, “Commissioner Watson’s achievement underscores a strong commitment and dedication to public service in county government. The graduates of the program contribute enormously to the betterment and improvement of county government in Alabama, and graduates such as Commissioner Watson serve as a model of the best in our system of grassroots democratic government.”

The County Commissioner Graduate award will be presented to Watson, at a special ceremony during the 2018 Annual Convention of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. Graduates of the program must complete at least 120 hours of detailed practical and applied course work involving all aspects of county leadership and administration.