North Carolina State Government Reflection

This retrospective on my years in the public service arena had a modest original purpose. It began as a discussion of my years as a State government administrator from 1971 to 1976. The intent then was to document the most significant, most interesting, and sometimes amusing episodes that occurred during my 5+ years in State government. I wanted to do this because these experiences were important to me and because I thought they might be important, perhaps useful, and even interesting to others. These chapters form the core of this retrospective. After reading the material on the State government years, I realized that my experiences after those years involving the Committee of Scientists and the Coastal Resources Commission were equally important to me and, potentially, fully as important to others so I decided to include them. As I got deeper into the writing I sensed that there might be other reasons for

I use “I” when an action or issue directly involved me as an individual and “we” when the Department or individuals with whom I worked closely were involved. The reader will understand this distinction from the context of the discussion. My discussion of each experience in North Carolina State government will begin with introductory material in italics that sets the stage for each episode. Most chapters end with a summary of “what can be learned” from that experience. Obviously, what I judge can be learned from an experience is my opinion and is colored by my own involvement in the episode. Others may view the experience entirely differently.
Any errors in describing events or their ramifications are mine as are any opinions expressed. Except where doing so would be clearly derogatory, I have used the real names of persons involved to tie the narrative more closely to the personalities, some of whom may be known to the