Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), Georgia’s county association, recently awarded Rockdale County Chairman and CEO Richard Oden with the 2016 Emory Greene Leadership Award.

Each year, ACCG presents leadership awards to county officials to recognize them for their outstanding public service and leadership in county government. The Emory Greene Leadership Award is the highest honor a commissioner can receive from Georgia’s county association in its annual awards and recognition program. Chairman Oden accepted the award on May 1, 2016 at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center during the 2016 ACCG Annual Conference.

“ACCG is proud to present Chairman Oden with this year’s Emory Greene Leadership Award” said ACCG Executive Director Ross King. “It is an honor to recognize his service to those of Rockdale County as well as the members of ACCG with this prestigious award.”

Regarded as a visionary and results-driven manager, Chairman Oden has served the residents of Rockdale County since 2009. He is currently in his eighth year as county chairman where he has made many strides for the citizens of Rockdale. Within his first 120 days in office, Oden’s leadership helped the county secure a $2.7 million award from the American Recovery Reinvestment Act for the county’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. After five years of operation, the program has helped 99 percent of its recipients successfully maintain homeownership for a minimum of three years.

Another county success under the chairman’s leadership is its recent certification awarded through the Atlanta Regional Commission. Rockdale County was one of only five winners to earn the bronze level Green Communities Certification for their sustainability efforts. Other notable achievements under Oden’s leadership include, but are not limited to, the county finance department’s recognition for excellence in financial reporting from the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association; AT&T designating portions of Rockdale County as AT&T Fiber Ready; retrofitting more than 40 percent of the county traffic signals with LED lights; and the implementation of new Parks and Recreation software that allows visitors to make online reservations and payments for all county facilities and recreation programs.

“I’m truly appreciative of this award because it’s a result of a wide-reaching, collaborative effort from the County’s Directors, Deputy Directors, Managers and our entire staff who believe in the Rockdale Government Operating Efficiency System known as R-GOES,” Oden said. “So I want to give accolades to them because they reflect what R-GOES is designed to do – build team synergy and break down silos while improving productivity, increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

“Also, I want to give my sincere thanks to ACCG because this was a nice surprise.”

Oden is active in his local community as a mentor for middle and high school students. He also serves on various regional and local boards such as the Rockdale County Board of Health, the Walk of Heroes Veterans Memorial Park board and the View Point Health-Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities board.

The Emory Greene Leadership Award is named in honor of the late Bibb County Commissioner Emory Greene. As Chairman of the Board, Greene was an outstanding leader in his home county, but he was also admired as a statewide leader in his service on numerous boards and commissions. The Emory Greene Leadership Award recognizes a county commissioner who has made significant contributions at the state and local levels. ACCG has presented this prestigious award to deserving county commissioners since 1990.