While he has only been serving the position for a few weeks now, Interim County Administrator for Effingham County, Billy Beckett, has been hard at work fulfilling the obligations of the job.

Beckett, who has held numerous interim titles over the years, heard about the opening in Effingham County and knew he wanted to step in and lend his services.

“I enjoy helping communities that have a need for interim positions,” Beckett said. “Dave Wills from the ACCG called me and told me a little about Effingham and what their circumstances are and would be – I did a little research on Effingham and then came down for the interview.”

Once the interview process was complete and Beckett learned he had gotten the job, he immediately went to work.

“I think I can help on the interim basis – just kind of keep the ship steady and help them find someone who has got good professional skills and but also someone who has good interpersonal skills,” Beckett said. “I have a pretty good network having worked in the profession a long time and I’ve gone through this five other times – I’m aware of the pool of candidates who are out there, generally speaking.”

While he serves the position, Beckett will help in the narrowing down of permanent replacements as well as helping to select the next County Administrator.

Before his replacement is selected, Beckett will continue to do the duties that the job entails. He will also help to fulfill the goals of the community.

“My professional goals have been satisfied long ago,” Beckett said. “My goals now are for the community. I want to provide a model for the community for how administration should work. That isn’t a slap at Toss (Allen) – I think Toss did an outstanding job, my style just may be a little different.”

Beckett added that he will work with the commissioners to achieve their goals and objectives.

“I’m here to facilitate the transition,” Beckett said. “The staff is always a little uncertain whenever there’s a change – whether we’re talking about elected officials or appointed officials. I’m here to kind of ease their minds as well as facilitate the change process that they are going through.”