The Town of Lexington has found its new town administrator, the first woman to hold the post and the first outside hire for the job in a half-century.

At a special called meeting Oct. 16, Town Council voted unanimously to approve hiring Rachelle Moody as the town’s next administrator. Moody replaces Britt Poole, who left the town in June to become executive director of the Central Midlands Council of Government. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Rachelle to our team. Rachelle’s leadership, breadth of knowledge, and fresh perspective positioned her as the ideal candidate,” Mayor Pro-Tem Hazel Livingston is quoted. “We’re excited to welcome her back home to Lexington as she joins us in our continued work to make Lexington the greatest place to live, learn, worship, and raise a family.”

Moody’s first day in the role will be Nov. 20. Stuart Ford, who served as interim town administrator following Poole’s departure, will resume his role as assistant town administrator.

“I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to serve as the new Town Administrator for the Town of Lexington,” Moody is quoted in a release. “It’s my privilege to join a community that has such rich history and so much to already be proud of. I am committed to hitting the ground running and working collaboratively with our staff, elected officials, and residents to build on our collective success as we aim to take our Town to even greater heights.”

According to town officials, the new administrator comes to the town from the South Carolina City of North Augusta, across the Savannah River from Georgia and the City of Augusta. She currently serves as North Augusta’s assistant city manager, getting hired for the job in 2019 after serving in an interim capacity for 10 months.

In her current role, Moody oversees North Augusta’s planning and development, parks and recreation, engineering and public works, and public services. 

The press release states that Moody is also directly responsible for preparing, managing and overseeing the city’s $50.4 million consolidated budget.

Town officials added that Moody has developed a reputation for being an excellent partner to the community and oversaw the implementation of the city’s $180 million public-private partnership Riverside Village, which required reaching out to business partners, a master developer, and the Augusta Green Jackets.

Prior to her North Augusta role Moody served as assistant to the city administrator for Cayce, serving in an interim capacity before being hired permanently and working in the role for about three years.

While she was fulfilling her duty to Cayce, Moody resided in Lexington.

,

According to town officials, Lexington retained the Greenville-based executive search firm Find Great People to conduct a nationwide search to fill the role, with three finalists being identified.

Town officials stated that they received 75 applicants who met the job’s parameters, and after initial vetting was conducted, 13 candidates were presented to council. Following this presentation, eight candidates were selected for virtual interviews via Zoom. Following the first round of interviews, four semi-finalists were selected for in-person interviews and were asked to deliver detailed presentations, after which the list was culled to three.

According to officials, the 13 candidates presented to council included four from out of state, four who used to or currently hold a role as city/town managers/administrators, six assistant city/town managers/administrators (including three who have served in an interim capacity as manager/administrator), three female leaders, nine who possessed experience serving in state municipalities/counties and seven who had experience specifically with the Midlands region of the state.

Moody is a two-time alum of Wichita State University, holding a bachelor's in criminal justice and master’s in public administration. She is also a graduate of the South Carolina Economic Development Institute and the South Carolina Local Government Leadership Institute.

"Rachelle's appointment as Administrator makes me even more excited for the future of our Town. She brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique dynamic to the role, and her experience leading municipal communications is particularly exciting to me as our Town works hard to better engage and communicate with citizens, businesses, and other key stakeholders,” said Council Member Gavin Smith. “It's a great day for Lexington, and I'm looking forward to welcoming Rachelle to Town Hall for her first day on the job and working alongside her in the years to come."