A standing room-only crowd packed the commission chambers to see the gavel passed from outgoing chairman Gene Valentino and his successor Lumon May. May took the opportunity to both honor and poke fun at the outgoing chairman.
May called up Maureen Valentino to stand with her husband while he presented the commissioner with a plaque. He also presented Gene with a tongue-in-cheek award for his service.
Holding a certificate in his hand, May read, “On behalf of the county commission, we are giving the first “Stand Down Commissioner, Changing of the Guard†award presented to Commissioner Gene Valentino for your long diligence and outstanding performance during your tenure as chairman. Never failing to scrub out an item from the 10,000-ft. level even if you are in the weeds.”
In his remarks, Commissioner Valentino talked about the challenges of serving on the BCC.
“We cover the gamut of issues on a daily basis,†he said. “The one that you come into the office to lobby for—that is so important to you—sits on our agendas as one of 30 items. We try to vet through all of them, giving all the concern and passion to each of them that you give to your one.â€
He closed with: “I’ve been proud of the four commissioners up here, believe it or not, and to deliberate with them on the issues that are of great concern to you. Thank you very much.â€