From Hyde County

Sarah Johnson, Hyde County’s Public Information Officer, graduated in June from the N.C. Rural Center’s award-winning Rural Economic Development Institute (REDI). The intensive, three-month training program strengthens leadership ability and provides participants with proven economic and community development strategies.

This year’s class boasted professionals from across the state with a variety of backgrounds from elected officials to business owners, educators, and community organizers. More than 1,000 rural leaders have graduated from REDI since the program began in 1989. Johnson joins several others from Hyde County in the Rural Center’s leadership alumni association.

REDI alumni from Hyde County include Alice Keeney (former N.C. Rural Center Board Member and former Hyde County Planning and Economic Development Director), Kris Cahoon Noble (current Hyde County Planning and Economic Development Director), Margie Brooks (former Hyde County Chamber of Commerce Director and Community Development Corporation Director), Justin Gibbs (current Hyde County EMS Director), and Averi Simmons (former Hyde County Planning and Economic Development Director’s Assistant).