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Wilkes County manager named
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Published: September 17, 2008
John Yates, who has been the interim Wilkes County manager since May, will be hired as county manager.
Wilkes County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday evening to offer the job to Yates.
A contract, including salary details, will be prepared for approval at the board's next meeting on Oct. 6.
Yates, 40, was town manager of Badin from 1993 to 1998, until returning to Wilkes County to help run his family's cattle farm.
When former Wilkes County Manager Gary Page left last spring to become Rowan County manager, Yates came on board as interim manager and worked with Page during the transition.
As interim manager, Yates was a contract employee being paid $70,000 a year with no benefits.
Charlie Sink, the chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, said that commissioners have been pleased with the job Yates has done and that the county was fortunate he was available.
"I wouldn't have thought we'd be that lucky," he said. "He's done a great job."
Commissioners talked to county department heads and other employees to get their input.
"Everybody seemed to be very pleased with whatever John's doing," Sink said. "He's stepped up and done whatever he's been asked to do."
Yates said he's gotten good support from commissioners and department heads while he's been interim manager.
Major projects on the horizon include the new county jail and a joint water intake with other local governments. Yates also sees the county playing a big role in economic development.
"We need to work hard on getting as many jobs into Wilkes as we can," he said.
Yates, a Wilkes County native, comes from a family with a long history of public service in the area. His great grandfather was a longtime clerk of court in Wilkes County, as was his grandfather. His father, Clayton Yates, retired after 30 years working for the state and his mother, Gail, taught school for 30 years in Wilkes County.
Yates graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in political science, with a concentration in city and county management. He ran for clerk of court in 2006, but lost in the Republican primary.
He and wife Jennifer have two sons, William, 9, and Grayson, 6.
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