Benton County announced Tuesday that it has formally extended an offer to Rachel McEnemy for the position of county administrator, with an anticipated start date of Oct. 2.

Benton County held the “Meet the County Administrator Finalists” event on June 28, according to the Benton County website, which allowed the community to have an opportunity to interact with the final three candidates at the time for the position. There were presentations, question and answer sessions, and networking. These finalists were then narrowed down to two candidates, McEnemy and Nancy Newton, as of July 20. 

According to Cory Grogan, Public Information Officer for Benton County, Suzanne Hoffman has been the interim county administrator and plans to retire Aug. 31, with Benton County’s chief financial officer taking over the interim county administrator role starting Sept. 1.  

McEnemy has served the City of Albany, New York since 2016, according to the Benton County website. Before her time working in Albany,  three years were spent as the director of public affairs for the New York State Department of Labor/Workers Compensation Board as well as one year in the position of deputy commissioner for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

McEnemy studied at University at Albany, SUNY, and received a Bachelor of Arts in theatre with a minor in political science. She also holds a postgraduate certificate in arts administration from Purchase College, SUNY, and graduated from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, in the Executive Leadership Program.