News

County Parks department gets new leadership

By Nancy Waclawek, Published: July 11, 2017

The Henderson County Parks and Recreation department will have new leadership effective Aug. 1.

Jason Brown, chief deputy with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, replaces Tim Hopkin, who was reassigned last week to work with the department’s athletic programs, county manager Steve Wyatt said Tuesday. John Mitchell, business and community director, “will shepherd the transition” in the department until Brown starts next month, Wyatt said.

“I’ve had my eye on him for a while,” Wyatt said of Brown. “He will bring strong leadership and decisive management” to the department. “Nobody’s going to work harder for you.”

Wyatt said he met Brown when Brown was working on his master’s degree in public administration. “I had a chance to get to know him and I decided I’d like to have him on our management team. I approached him and he went through the thoughtful process” and decided to accept his offer, Wyatt said.

Brown received both his undergraduate degree in criminal science and his master’s degree from Western Carolina University. He worked for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department before being hired in 2007 by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Hopkin had worked for the county for 14 years and oversaw athletic programs for Parks and Recreation when he was promoted to the director position in 2007.