Just 16 days shy of his eight-year, Paul Spruill has departed from his position as Beaufort County manager. He will join Pantego-based Tideland Electric Membership Corp. on July 5.

Spruill, an assistant county manager in Chatham County prior to coming to Beaufort County, spent his first two years on the job working to convince county commissioners that they made the right choice.

“The first two years, for me, were more about proving that I belonged and could do the job,” Spruill told the Washington Daily News during an exit interview. “Knowing that I wasn’t their first choice, the first two years I was motivated to demonstrate that I should have been. As time passed, I became really interested in the diversity of the board and the fact that every Beaufort County citizen has at least one county commissioner they could identify with.”

While running the county, Spruill has had numerous challenges: a battle with the Navy over a proposed OLF (outlying landing field); the 2004 closure of the construction-and-demolition-debris landfill; the 2005 closure of the Beaufort County Home; a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Beaufort County Board of Education over school funding; and, most recently, the proposed lease/purchase of Beaufort Regional Health System by Greenville-based University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina.

Despite the adversity he has faced during his tenure, Spruill moves on with more victories than loses, more friends than foes. Through it all, Spruill has proven to be a highly competent manager with a passion for Beaufort County and its citizens.

We wish him the best in all his future endeavors.