Rockingham County announces the internal promotion of Derek Southern by naming him Assistant County Manager.
OWentworth, NC (September 14, 2022) – Rockingham County is pleased to announce the internal promotion of Derek Southern and name him as new Assistant County Manager. This decision was made following several interviews and a review of Southern’s experience, knowledge and connection to Rockingham County.
Derek Southern formerly held the title of Chief Information Officer and was the Director for the County’s Information Technology (IT) Department for the last 5 years. Before being named IT Director and beginning his career in County Government, Derek worked in the technology field for the private sector for nearly 17 years.
“I am confident as Derek joins our administration staff. He has the knowledge and drive our team will benefit from seeing he is a life-long resident of Rockingham County,” County Manager Lance Metzler stated, “I look forward to seeing him step into this role and continue our great work together.”
Derek Southern is a graduate of McMichael High School and a two-time graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he received his Bachelor’s in Information Systems and his Masters of Business Administration in 2009. In January of 2022, Derek held a large responsibility in the creation and launch of Connect Rockingham; a project designed to enable all residents of the county access to reliable broadband. Connect Rockingham was his latest public facing project but Derek is responsible for numerous internal projects aimed at bettering County Government functions.
“I am a firm believer Government Workers do good things,” Southern said, “I am excited for the opportunity to help continue our staff’s respective public service responsibilities in this Assistant County Manager position.”
In Derek’s free time, you can find him on his produce and cattle farm or at one of his three children’s extracurriculars. Derek has been married to his wife, Jenny, for 19 years. The Southern Family is active across the Rockingham County Community. Along with Derek’s professional work, his wife has been a public-school teacher in the county for 20 years and his 3 children are on several sports teams and involved in other clubs.
Rockingham County Government is excited for Derek Southern and looking forward to his leadership as Assistant County Manager.
