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Lewis “L.C.” Hoggard III of Windsor and Owen Thomas of Lumberton have been elected to leadership positions for North Carolina.

The North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Governments (NCARCOG), located in Hickory, is a statewide association that includes all 100 counties in the state and represents the interests of the 16 councils of governments (COGs) for the state.

The Mid-East Commission, located in Washington, is a COG. It serves Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin, and Pitt counties.

The NCARCOG has a policy board that is comprised of one board member from each COG. The policy board is called the Forum, and it works with the NCARCOG executive directors to advocate and advance key priority issues that impact local and regional governments within the state.

Hoggard has been elected to serve as the NCARCOG Forum Chairman and Thomas has been elected to serve as Vice-Chairman. Their terms began this month and they will serve in the leadership until 2026.

Hoggard currently serves on the board of the Mid-East Commission, and he is an elected official representing the Town of Windsor. He is a graduate of Elizabeth City State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Social Work.

Thomas is a member of the Lumber River Council and serves on the Lumberton City Council. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Both gentlemen have provided years of local and regional leadership to their respective areas, and they have served as champions for regional coordination of programs and services in North Carolina.

Recently NCARCOG received $16 million in funding for North Carolina COGs to aid local governments as they deliver programs and services from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to local citizens.