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<p><strong>From staff reports</strong></p>
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<p>Beaufort County Council chair Joe Passiment is among 25 county officials from across the state who graduated August 2 from Levels I and II of the Institute of Government for County Officials at the S.C. Association of Counties’ 2021 Annual Conference, held July 30-Aug. 3.</p>
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<p>Passiment graduated from Level II.</p>
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<p>“It is an honor for me to recognize members of the class of 2021,” 2020-21 SCAC President Johnnie Wright Sr. (Orangeburg County Council Chairman) said when recognizing graduates at the conference’s opening session August 2. “Thank you for your dedication to county government, as demonstrated by your graduation today. Congratulations!”</p>
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<p>The Institute of Government for County Officials provides county officials the opportunity to enhance their skills and abilities to function more effectively. SCAC partners with the College of Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley Jr. Center for Livable Communities to offer the Institute of Government three times per year. Clemson University’s Master of Public Administration program sponsors the Institute.</p>
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<p>County officials must complete 27 hours of instruction to graduate from Level I, and 18 hours of instruction to graduate from Level II.</p>
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<p>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, SCAC is the only organization representing county governments in the state.</p>
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