Murphy – Community members are rushing to honor former Cherokee County manager Ron Hill, who has stage four pancreatic cancer.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners had a late addition to its Oct. 2 meeting – to propose and vote on a resolution honoring Hill, who was county manager from 1974-81. He was instrumental in the creation of the Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy and 12 community centers throughout the county.
Hill – accompanied by his wife of 67 years, Shirley, and daughter Rebecca Zuercher – was presented with a framed copy of the resolution Thursday, outside the museum he helped create.
“I’m proud to present this to you and appreciate what you’ve done for Cherokee County,” said Cal Stiles, chairman of the board.
County officials present at the small ceremony were Stiles, Commissioner Randy Phillips, County Manager Randy Wiggins and county attorney Darryl Brown.
Plaques are being developed to be placed in his memory inside the museum and at Penland Senior Center, which he also helped establish.
The plaques will state, in part, that “during his tenure as Cherokee County manager, from 1974 to 1981, Ron’s bold initiatives were widely recognized and resulted in Cherokee County receiving 12 national awards for unique community development projects. One such project was his concept to establish the Cherokee County Museum in the old library building owned by the town of Murphy, NC, approved on December 6, 1976, by Cherokee County commissioners.
“Ron arranged with the president of Western Carolina University to secure a group of students to inventory, number and catalogue all artifacts in the museum including the Herman West contribution of more than 2,000 authentic artifacts of the Cherokee Indians. Ron will be remembered for his commitment to his native county, and his appreciation for all residents of Cherokee County who devoted their time and effort in support of his many Cherokee County community accomplishments,” the resolution reads.
The museum archives and displays the rich heritage of the people and culture of Cherokee County, past and present, according to the board of commissioners’ resolution.
Hill, who turned 89 in August, was born in Andrews and graduated from Murphy High School. He was educated at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army during the Korean and Vietnam wars, then was recalled from retired status to also serve during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
In 1965, during the Vietnam War, he became the youngest sergeant major in the Army at age 31. In 1967, he received a direct commission as an Army officer.
Hill retired on Dec. 31, 1973, from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations for the Department of the Army at the Pentagon. During his professional life, he had been human resources director at Atlanta-based Alston, Miller & Gaines, the oldest and most prestigious law firm in the Southeast.
At times in Cherokee County, Hill was concurrently county manager, acting health director, budget officer and emergency management director.
During his tenure, Cherokee County received 12 national awards for unique community development projects. Of more than 3,000 counties in the United States, Cherokee was a leading rural county to receive an unprecedented number of state, federal and other funding grants, totaling more than $38 million for a multitude of projects. They include:
- Converted the old Carnegie Library building owned by the Town of Murphy into the Cherokee County Historical Museum in 1976.
- Established a senior center in honor of former Cherokee County commissioner Bob Penland.
- Secured grants to fund the creation of 12 community centers with athletic fields throughout the county that are still in use.
- Organized each community center into its own nonprofit organization.
- Secured a grant to enable Cherokee County to become the first in the state to develop new maps using ortho photography, which combines the image characteristics of an aerial photograph with the geometric qualities of a map.
Hill was recruited in 1981 to become CEO/site manager of a U.S. corporation providing some 300 staff and faculty to the largest senior military school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, teaching English, advanced courses in electronics, computer science and military management.
Starting in 1985, he was CEO/director of John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. Given the task to find a way to bring about the school’s fiscal security for generations to come, he guided the evolution of the school into a national resource for traditional crafts, music, dance and folklore.