GATESVILLE – After spending 13 months in Gates County, Jon Mendenhall is changing scenery.

Mendenhall, who has served as the Gates County Manager since Jan. 14, 2013, resigned Thursday during an emergency meeting called by the county’s Board of the Commissioners.

In a telephone conversation Thursday afternoon with the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Mendenhall said he has accepted the job as Town Administrator in Carolina Shores, located in Brunswick County near the South Carolina border.

“Opportunities such as the one in Carolina Shores do not come around that often and I decided to take that opportunity,” Mendenhall said, referencing the charm and lifestyle of the town located just a few miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and just north of the famed “Grand Strand” of Myrtle Beach, SC.

Later, in a press release, Mendenhall thanked his current bosses – the Gates County Board of Commissioners – for the opportunity to serve.

“I truly value the partnership with the Board and appreciate their own individual and collective service to the community,” he stated. “It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the men and women of Gates County and I wish the community the very best.”

Mendenhall said he would remain at his current position through March.

“We’re just getting started on the budget process (for FY 2014-15); I want to get as much done on that before I leave,” he remarked.

His first day in Carolina Shores is Tuesday, April 1.

“I am very enthusiastic about a new opportunity in CarolinaShores and continuing to work in the public’s service,” Mendenhall noted. “Whether here or there, my door has and will be open to each of you as members of the public, partners and friends; I hope the very best for you individually and for Gates County.

“As I reflect upon my time here I am excited about the progress that has been made and equally excited about the capacity for progress that is incubated in Gates County in the form of new ideas, resident input, volunteerism, and all like endeavors,” Mendenhall added.

A native of High Point, Mendenhall spent 20 months as the Deputy County Administrator in Southampton County, VA before coming to Gates County. Prior to that he served as Director of Engineering Services for Albemarle, NC; Planning Director for Tift County, GA, and County Planner for Stanly County, NC.

He is an undergraduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and a graduate of East Carolina University with a Masters in Technology Systems. Additional studies in Project Management have been completed at NC State University.

According to the town’s website, Carolina Shores was established in 1998 (following a split from the nearby town of Calabash). It is home to 3,200 residents and is governed by a Mayor and five-member Board of Commissioners. The town includes Carolina Shores (a residential golf course community), The Farm at Brunswick, Calabash Lakes, Beacon Townes, The Village at Calabash, and Lighthouse Cove.