Charleston County assistant administrator Jim Armstrong hasn’t been afforded the luxury of looking in the rear-view mirror of his 25-year career in the County’s Public Works and Transportation Departments. The job of planning the transportation infrastructure for a County that has seen rapid growth in the last quarter century doesn’t leave much time for reflection.
Armstrong, who lives in West Ashley, isn’t one to toot his own horn when it comes to his work. His colleagues however, along with a number of notable community and municipal leaders tooted it anyway in backing Armstrong’s nomination for a national lifetime achievement award.
Although the field was crowded with public works professionals from across the nation, Armstrong was recently named The American Public Works Association’s (APWA) 2013 “Professional Manager of the Year – Transportation.”
The APWA is a national, education-driven industry organization dedicated to the field of public works. According to the official criteria, the award “seeks to inspire excellence and dedication by recognizing the outstanding career service achievements of public transportation professionals … (focused on) exceptional leadership and management by an individual through a significant transportation-related project or program.” It also states that the candidates have a minimum of 10 years’ experience in the field.
Armstrong will receive the honor in person at the the 2013 APWA International Public Works Congress & Exposition, dubbed “the Best Show in Public Works,” to be held from Aug. 25-28, in Chicago. And while Armstrong alone will ascend the stage to receive the award, he’s quick to defer to the dozens of colleagues and fellow County staffers he works with as “second to none” as the reason for his being named the 2013 award recipient.
“This award I got isn’t about me, it’s about this wonderful workforce that we have at the County. I believe in my team, I try to empower them, get out of their way, and let them do their work,” says Armstrong of his leadership style, before turning his attention to his staff. “They’re hard working, they’re smart, and they get it done. If they have to stay here 20 hours a day, I don’t have to tell them they need to … they just do it.
For Armstrong, it’s a labor of love. First hired by Charleston County in 1988, Armstrong was immediately put to the test, and under the most serious of circumstances, serving as a liaison with the S.C. National Guard during recovery from Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
“This is what I want to be doing. Before I worked for the County I grew up in the engineering business and it’s what I’ve wanted to do my entire life,” says Armstrong. “I’m just very fortunate to be in the place I am, surrounded by a bunch of great people. We’ve got a County Council that provides us opportunities to make improvements for the citizens … this is my calling, I’m as happy as I can be.”
Armstrong is probably best known to everyday Charlestonians as the point man for the Charleston County Roadwise program, in charge of implementing County half-cent Transportation Sales Tax-funded projects, such as the massive Bees Ferry Road widening project currently underway in West Ashley.
On the County’s future and the prospects of continued growth, Armstrong is optimistic about his agency’s ability to handle it. “I think that for the foreseeable future, we’re going to continue to grow and people are going to continue to come here because it’s such a wonder place to live. I think that we’re just going to continue up the ladder for the next 25 years,” says Armstong. “I’m sure we’ll probably take our lumps along the way, but I see us going straight on up.”

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