Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann has appointed Assistant County Administrator Scott Gunning to take retiring County Administrator Joe Shriver’s place upon Shriver’s July 31 retirement.
Gunning, who has worked for the county for almost 20 years, will take over as the county administrator and deputy judge/executive on Aug. 1.
Shriver had his last Kenton County Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday after 24 years with the county. Shriver’s retirement was announced at the June 14 meeting.
“I always say to our team that you can have a great plan, a great purpose, financial resources, and even a lot of luck,” Knochelmann said. “But it all comes down to people and boy, isn’t Kenton County lucky that we’ve got Joe Shriver for 24 years.”
Kenton County Attorney Stacy Tapke thanked Shriver at the meeting for the work he has done for the county.
“I started as an assistant in the county attorney’s office in 2004 and my first task was to go to fiscal court meetings,” Tapke said. “So, while the faces have changed in the last almost 20 years one consistency was Joe. And we’ve been through a lot of lawsuits, and different things over the past several years, so I will miss you greatly. And thank you for all that you’ve done for the county.”
Commissioners Beth Sewell, Jon Draud, and Joe Nienaber congratulated Gunning and said he was going to do great in his new role.
Draud told Shriver he was one of the best administrators he has worked for and Nienaber echoed that statement.
“Joe has become a tremendous friend for so many years in the background. I do believe he is the best county administrator in the state,” Nienaber said. “I think he does it with humility and for the most part a drive and intensity that’s unmatched in the private industry.”
