Philip D. Brown

Richmond County Daily Journal

After four and a half years in his position, Richmond County Agricultural Extension Director Clinton McRae will be moving up to work with the cooperative extension on a district-wide basis.

McRae’s first day as the director of the South Central District Cooperative Extension will be Monday.

“Being here in Richmond County has been a great experience,” McRae said Wednesday. “I’ve gained a lot of wonderful contacts, and one of the things that has impressed me the most about working here in Richmond County is that I’ve seen great collaboration between local agencies and communities.”

This spirit of collaboration is something he hopes to bring to his new position supervising the extension offices in 15 counties, including Richmond.

“The thing that I will miss the most about working in Richmond County is the team we have here at this office,” he continued. “Our staff here actually works as a team to complete projects, and have great relationships with other county and regional offices.”

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Associate Director and Director of County Operations Dr. Joe Zublena will supervise McRae in his new position said he will be welcomed on-board.

“First of all, he’s a great guy,” Zublena said in a Tuesday interview. “We had a national search for three of these positions that became open, and Clinton was one of the candidates we chose to fill one of the positions.”

He said five candidates were identified by an organization search committee, and two of the positions have currently been filled.

Zublena, who has followed McRae’s career for some time, said there were many factors that told him he was the man for the job.

“One thing that really impressed me about him was that he was able to offer a lot of real-life examples to illustrate his leadership style and management style,” Zublena continued. “He brings a lot of experience.”

Zublena also complimented McRae’s professionalism and self-presentation.

“He deals with challenges in a head-on and a very productive way, and comes up with a successful resolution to these challenges in many instances,” he said.

A native of Wagram in Scotland County, McRae was the director of the Hoke County extension before transferring to Richmond County in 2005.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in foods and nutrition and a master’s degree in human development, both from N.C. Central University.

He succeeded Taylor Williams, who transferred to Moore County at that time.

McRae said he hopes to maintain the close relationships he has developed in Richmond County throughout the course of his career.

“As a matter of fact, being that Richmond County is one of the counties I’ll be responsible for, I will work closely with the team here, County Manager Rick Sago and an advisory council on selecting the next person to take this position as county director,” he said. “So, I am not totally out of Richmond County, and look forward to working closely with the county in the future.”

No specific timeline has been set to name his replacement.