BEDFORD – Brian Skillman who has served as Lawrence County Human Resource Director announced his resignation Tuesday morning during the commissioner’s meeting. Skillman is leaving the position to pursue other career opportunities.
” I’m here today to give my farewell address as county HR Director,” Skillman said. “I first want to thank Commissioners
(Rodney) Fish and (Dustin) Gabhart, and former Commissioner (Gene) McCracken for their support in the creation of the Human Resources Department in Lawrence County in 2017. They took the necessary step in hiring an experienced HR Director which is absolutely necessary to operate in today’s public sector and I commend them for that. I also want to thank Commissioner Branham for his support and involvement over the last two years.”
“I want to give a special thanks to former Auditor and current Treasurer Jody Edwards for her support and working hand in hand with me to improve county government and creating the HR department. I also want to thank former Highway Superintendent David Holmes, current interim Superintendent Brandi Webb, and current Sheriff Mike Branham for their support and time in the creation and implementation of the HR system.”
Skillman said the commissioner’s support in creating and adopting a new employee handbook in 2019 and supporting the HR system were crucial steps towards positive change. I hope the HR system will eventually be embraced by all county departments and will continue to grow and be an asset to the county for decades to come.
“My goal here was to improve the culture, compliance, and efficiency of county government,” Skillman added. “I think the commissioners and I have made progress in doing that but there is still a lot of work to do and communication needs to improve between the departments. I hope I have been a trusted resource the employees felt comfortable coming to with any problems or questions that they had. HR is necessary and vital to county government as all counties our size now have a dedicated HR department. I ask that all elected officials, department heads, and employees please give respect to whoever is hired to fill this position. Their task will not be an envious one and they will need time to learn county government. My replacement will need all the support and help they can get in order to be successful. I wish everyone the best moving forward. I will be available anytime to the commissioners and the new
HR Coordinator with any questions or needs that they may have in this transition.”
