The Beaufort County Public Health Department would like to congratulate Mike Bell on his years of service to the Beaufort County Board of Health on the occasion of his retirement.

Bell served as the board’s engineer from 2005-2016, and was only the second person to hold this position. Health Director James Madson was very complimentary of Bell during his final Board of Health meeting Sept. 20. Madson said Bell has been “very proactive in discussing health issues in the county, especially around engineering topics.”

Madson and the county commissioners’ high regard for Bell was evident in a letter of gratitude, thanking Bell for his service. Madson also added that this accolade reflects highly on Bell as a citizen.

Bell spoke highly of his time of service in public health in general, and his time on the Board of Health. He started his public health career in 1965 when he took a job with the State Board of Health, then known as the Health Agency for the State of North Carolina. Bell spoke of the changes he saw throughout his career, from administration to people to programming.

Bell’s career was spent in environmental health, where he mostly dealt with public drinking-water supplies. He reiterated his love for public health and his knowledge of the events that have taken place since 1965. He talked about his extensive work with several health departments east of Interstate 95.

He was also complimentary of Madson and the Beaufort County Board of Health.

Bell said, “It has been a great pleasure to serve on this board and to make new friends and meet new people in the county that I didn’t know before and have a lot of respect for now.”

Bell said he thinks that the county can be very proud of the public health program and the people who are running it. He said that even in his retirement, he will continue supporting the efforts put forth in public health.