This is the 2026–27 Halifax County Junior County Commissioners class: aspiring surgeons, lawyers, real estate brokers, and one local politician.

The new class, which grew from 10 to 30 members this year in what has become an award-winning program, was introduced to the public during Monday’s Halifax County Board of Commissioners meeting held in Roanoke Rapids.

In May 2025, Commissioner Gary Redding proposed the program, and it was unanimously approved. “I was truly honored when Vice Chair Chenoa Davis, Deputy County Manager Christina Wells, and Stephanie Proctor of 4-H contacted me prior to that meeting to say they would like to be co-advisors.”

Since its formation, the junior commissioners have attended board meetings and participated in public comment periods, making recommendations about education, mental health, and other initiatives they want to see and how they affect the county, Redding said.

They have hosted and led a candidates forum and organized a donation and gift-wrapping drive that helped provide more than 40 foster children with gifts for the holiday season.

They also participated in a job interview, dress-for-success, and cover letter workshop. “This all culminated in a completion ceremony which was well attended,” he said. “We were all so excited because grandparents, parents, friends, relatives, and many others attended to celebrate the first year of this milestone.”

Wells nominated the program for a Civic Federal Credit Union Excellence and Innovation Award. At least eight junior commissioners attended the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners conference in Durham, where they learned there were 56 nominations and 11 groups chosen for the award, with the Halifax County Junior Commissioners selected as one of the 11. “That’s so exciting,” he said. “Civic Federal Credit Union described the initiative as a pilot leadership initiative designed to engage high school students across the county in local government, civic responsibility, and community service.”

Since the first year, the county has deepened its relationships with the public school system and developed new connections with charter and private schools within the county, Redding said. “This program not only presents an exciting opportunity to inspire the next generation of leaders, but empowers students to build leadership skills and make a meaningful impact in their communities.”

“That’s a real high honor for the junior county commissioners to be recognized,” board Chair Vernon Bryant said. “We were just so proud of them, and they’re going to see that Commissioner Redding and Davis’s work is not finished. They’re probably going to send this thing statewide.”

Josiah Ausby, a senior at Roanoke Rapids Early College High School, was chosen to give the address following the presentation of the credit union award. “It was truly an honor because this entire program has been such an innovative thing that I learned so much through,” he said. “From shadowing different county positions, through being out in the community, and having an impact, I learned so much about what it means to be in Halifax County and why you want to stay.”

He said one of the things the county struggles with is retention. “We have a lot of people who develop here and grow here and never come back. One thing I learned through the program is that there is a place for us here. There is a challenge that needs to be filled, and I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of the program and understand what it means to be here and how I can help.”