New Amherst administrator takes office

Clarence Monday began his job last week as the new county administrator, bringing a lifelong experience in government, public safety and getting to know people.

He also brings a work ethic, having unpacked several boxes of mementos to fill his walls and bookshelves, ranging from several diplomas and honors, photos of colleagues, his family and photos from five of six marathons he has completed.

“I’ve been in local government all my life,” Monday said. “Local government is a commitment, it’s not just a job.”

He has an extensive life experience, notably working shifts while working his way up to deputy chief of the Martinsville Fire Department. He spent a week in the same clothes during the blizzard of 1993, helping people.

When Mann was appointed city manager in Martinsville, he managed 13 municipal departments and 259 employees in a city with annual operating and capital budgets of $90 million, according to the city.

He carried on his fire service discipline, with a pace that kept him going on days, nights and weekends and networking and emailing.

When he arrived in Amherst, he struck up a conversation with local people at the McDonald’s on Richmond Highway. “The citizens,” he said, of his first good impression of the county.

On Jan. 16, Monday spent hours with the now-former interim administrator, Steve Crosby, beginning to get to know the county.

On his first official day on the job Jan. 17, Monday began early, then moved to a meet-and-greet reception with local officials and staffers, ending that night with a Board of Supervisors meeting.

“My agenda is to meet people, to acclimate myself to the building and the staff,” he said last week. “I’m ready to go to work.”