NEWBERRY — Henry H. “Buddy” Livingston III, chairman of Newberry County Council, was elected president of the S.C. Association of Counties at its 50th annual conference held recently.
He succeeds Charleston County Clerk of Court Julie J. Armstrong, who served as SCAC president for 2016-17.
“It is an honor for me to be elected as president of the South Carolina Association of Counties for the coming year,” said Livingston. “Under the outstanding leadership of Julie Armstrong, we have come to the end of another challenging and successful year. I look forward to serving this Association, its members and board of directors, and to working with the SCAC staff.
“This year, we’re recognizing the 50th anniversary of our Association,” Livingston added. “Our successes over the years are the result of working together with a single voice for county government. We must remain united in the challenges facing our citizens and counties. I will be calling on you in the coming months as we develop our legislative agenda for the 2018 legislative session. Now, more than ever, we must work together as leaders of our communities to achieve our common goal of true Home Rule. Our citizens deserve nothing less.”
Livingston, currently a Realtor with ERA Wilder in Newberry, retired after serving a 31-year-long career in public education.
Livingston served on Newberry County Council from 1994 to 2002, and has served since he was elected again in 2007. He has served as chairman since 2009. Livingston chairs Newberry County’s Finance Committee, and serves on the board of directors of the Central SC Alliance and as a board member of Capital City Lake Murray Tourism.
He and his wife, the former Rhonda Frick, have two daughters, Brooke Harmon and Hannah; one son, Derrick; and a son-in-law, Jessie Harmon. Livingston and his family are members of the New Hope Methodist Church in Pomaria.
The SCAC, chartered on June 22, 1967, is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization whose membership includes all 46 counties in South Carolina. Governed by a 29-member board of directors elected each year by county officials at the Association’s annual conference, the SCAC is the only organization representing county governments in the state.
The Association provides a number of services, programs, and activities to county governments and their officials, including: research and technical assistance; education and training; legal assistance; policy development, advocacy, and legislative information; publications, including a magazine and newsletter; meetings and conferences; public information, including an annual directory and website; and financial services, including the S.C. Counties Workers’ Compensation Trust and S.C. Counties Property & Liability Trust.
