By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
betty@wdnweb.com
Q: Who are the members of the Beaufort Regional Health System Board of Commissioners and how are they appointed?
A: There are nine voting members of Beaufort Regional Health System Board of Commissioners. They are appointed to staggered three-year terms by the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners. Traditionally, one of the nine seats has been held by a local doctor.
The Beaufort County Medical Center’s chief of staff also serves as an ex-officio, or nonvoting, member of the board. That position is now held by Rachel McCarter.
This same group also serves as members of the Beaufort County Medical Center Board of Trustees.
The Beaufort County Hospital Association Inc., a nonprofit corporation, was established in April 1958 to lease and operate the newly constructed hospital in Beaufort County. The activities of the association were overseen by a seven-member Board of Directors. Under the articles of incorporation, vacancies were filled by corporation members. One of the first actions of the newly incorporated entity was “to enter into a lease agreement with Beaufort County for the leasing by the corporation of the Beaufort County hospital building and premises (sic) for the term of five years,” according to the association’s bylaws.
The county commissioners in 2001 created the Beaufort Regional Medical Authority, a hospital authority, which was changed in 2009 to the Beaufort Regional Health System. Also in 2009, the bylaws of the Beaufort County Hospital Association Inc. were changed to reflect the dual membership of its board with the BRHS Board of Commissioners.
According to information provided by Beaufort County and the Beaufort Regional Health System public information office, the members of the two governing boards, their occupations, their terms of office and those commissioners who chose them are as follows:
Alice Mills Sadler serves as chairwoman of the BRHS Board of Commissioners and the Beaufort County Medical Center Board of Trustees. She was named interim chairwoman of the two boards following the resignation from that post by Edwin M. “Sandy” Hardy, and she was elected to the chairwoman’s post in October. Sadler serves as chief operations officer of the Beaufort County Boys and Girls Club. Sadler was first appointed to the hospital’s governing boards in 2004, replacing Dennis Alexander, and was reappointed by unanimous vote of the county commissioners upon nomination by Ed Booth in 2010. Her term expires in 2013.
Brenda Peacock serves as vice chairwoman of the two boards. She is a gynecologist with Washington Women’s Care. Peacock was named to fill the unexpired term of Sandy Easley who resigned from the board in June 2010 after he accepted a post in Wilmington. Peacock was appointed by the county commissioners in a 5-2 vote upon nomination by Commissioner Hood Richardson with Commissioners Jay McRoy and Al Klemm casting the dissenting votes. Her term expires in 2011.
Hood Richardson serves as treasurer and is chairman of the Finance Committee. A registered land surveyor and engineer, Richardson was appointed to the board in 2009, replacing McRoy, in a 4-3 voted by the county commissioners upon nomination by Stan Deatherage. Casting dissenting votes were Commissioners Robert Cayton, Klemm and McRoy. His term expires in 2012. Richardson also serves on the county Board of Commissioners.                
Grace Bonner, a former mayor of Aurora, was first appointed to the two boards in 2005. She was reappointed in 2008 in a 5-2 vote by the county commissioners upon nomination by Cayton. Commissioners Deatherage and Richardson cast dissenting votes. Her term expires in 2011.                  
Howard Cadmus is a local business owner and nursing-home administrator. He also owns and operates pharmacies and runs Carolina East Medical Associates. He was appointed in 2010 on a 5-2 vote by the county commissioners upon nomination by Richardson. Commissioners Klemm and McRoy cast dissenting votes. His term expires in 2013. Cadmus replaced Jack Piland, who was first appointed to the board in 2009 to fill the unexpired term of Danny Mallison. Mallison now handles government relations and grant writing for the health system.
Clifton Gray is chairman of the BRHS Board’s Quality Improvement Committee. A lawyer, he was nominated by Booth to fill a seat on the BRHS board previously held by Earl Tetterton. Gray, one of three people nominated for the post, was the choice of Commissioners Jerry Langley, Booth, Cayton and Richardson. His term expires in 2012.
Suzanne Gray, former director of the Beaufort County Department of Social Services, was appointed in 2010 to replace Curtis Potter who had served on the two boards since 2001 and chose not to seek reappointment. Gray was appointed to the board unanimously by the county commissioners upon nomination by Richardson. Her term expires in 2013.
Edwin M. “Sandy” Hardy, a lawyer, served as chairman of the Beaufort Regional Health System Board of Commissioners and the Beaufort County Medical Center until stepping down from that post earlier this year. He was appointed in 2006, replacing Robert Kubicek, and was reappointed in 2009 upon nomination by Richardson. Commissioners Cayton and Langley cast dissenting votes. His term expires in 2012.      
Allen Roberson has served on the two boards since 2005 when he was appointed to replace Brenda Jones. Roberson, who is retired, was reappointed in 2008 upon nomination by Langley following a split vote by the county commissioners. Voting for his appointment were Booth, Cayton and Langley. His term expires in 2011.