Asheboro City Manager John Ogburn announces retirement plans

By Janet Imrick

ASHEBORO — John Ogburn will end his tenure as city manager next year, paving the way for the city of Asheboro to hire a new city manager and have that person start in April.

Ogburn addressed the city council at the end of its August 8 meeting. He said his decision came about while realizing the difficulties of recruiting a deputy city manager from the current labor pool.

"My decision and focus have been what is in the best interest of Asheboro,” he said. “Frankly, the search for a city manager will be more straightforward and easier to achieve than a search for a deputy city manager that could subsequently become city manager."

Ogburn's last active day will be March 15, 2025. He may adjust that timeline depending on when a new city manager is onboard.

"I'll spend these remaining months finishing projects, preparing the staff for change (382 fulltime employees – 340 of them have only served with one city manager), and laying the groundwork for the new manager to step in,” he said.

Matt Reece, assistant director for Piedmont Triad Regional Authority, is building the job profile and will post recruitment ads and screen candidates. The city council will work with Reece to interview candidates before hiring.

Ogburn also told the council that the International City/County Management Association will give him the 35 Years of Service Award at its convention held in Pittsburgh, PA, next month.
“A significant milestone in the city management profession," he said. "I served all these years in Randolph County and almost 25 in our hometown, of this I am very proud."

Council members described the announcement as bittersweet while thanking him for his work. 
Council member Eddie Burks said, "Things have changed so much since I got here. From a dying city to a successful city that we got to today. So much of that success is your vision. You guided us. We voted on it, but you were the guiding force."

Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt said, "Simply put, is it better off than how you found it?"
Ogburn said, "That's the job."

The city and its staff have received approximately 50 awards and recognitions during Ogburn’s tenure. Asheboro's accolades include United Way's Spirit of North Carolina Award in 2012 and 2014. It earned a Great Main Street designation from the North Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association. It was a finalist for All America City in 2015 and won the award in 2016.

An Asheboro native and graduate of Asheboro High School, Ogburn earned his undergraduate in political science from NC State and his master's in public affairs at UNC Greensboro. He became assistant city manager for Archdale in 1990, was promoted to city manager in 1995, then became city manager for Asheboro in 2001.

He attained the rank of captain in the US Army and is a member of AMVETS and the American Legion. He has been active in the community, working with the Asheboro Randolph Chamber of Commerce, Asheboro Blue Comets Youth Football Association and the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. He and his wife Martha have two daughters.