Talladega County hires new Administrator

The Talladega County Commission unanimously approved the hiring of a new county administrator effective Jan. 1 Monday.

Patricia Crook, currently city manager of Villa Rica, Georgia, will fill the post left when Wayne Hall, former county administrator, retired upon the expiration of his contract.

The commission selected Crook from a pool of four candidates including the Commission’s chief financial officer, Cynthia Harkness; Talladega County Revenue Commission Chief Appraiser Bryan Allen; and Talladega County Emergency Management Agency Director Travis McGrady.

Crook, a graduate of Mercer University, obtained experience as a county administrator role by becoming the first person to hold the county administrator position in Paulding County, Georgia, from 2001-2008 — four of those years spent in a dual-role as the county’s finance director.