Three Schuylkill County officials are among 17 who graduated from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania Academy for Excellence in County Government.

Director of Finance Paul Buber, Chief Clerk Linda Deatrich, and First Assistant Solicitor Glenn Roth, Jr. were honored in November at the organization’s Fall Conference in Hershey.

They completed required courses in leadership, management and decision making; county legal issues, today’s trends in county government; county functions and responsibilities; county financial management; risk management; personnel and labor relations; and personal development.

They also attained elective credits by attending courses covering a wide range of relevant topics.

“On county Administrator Gary Bender’s recommendation, I joined the Academy of Excellence program shortly after I became a new employee in the Commissioners’ office,” Deatrich said. “It afforded me the chance to learn about the different aspects of county government. The program is run smoothly by CCAP and I’m glad I took advantage of the opportunity to enroll. It was well worth it.”

Roth also found the program worthwhile.

“Schuylkill County, and especially Gary Bender, has always supported education for employees. The Academy of Excellence allows county officials to learn and also meet other colleagues from all across Pennsylvania,” he said. “We realize counties come across similar issues and it is nice to have a counterpart in another county to compare notes. This graduation was especially satisfying as I got to graduate with my coworkers, Paul Buber and Linda Deatrich.”

Buber was also grateful for the opportunity.

“I am honored to have graduated and to join the list of 160 other county officials who have also graduated from the CCAP Academy for Excellence. I am appreciative of the support I received from the Board of Commissioners, the County Administrator and from my family.”

More than 160 Schuylkill Cunty officials have graduated from the program since its inception in 1996.