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JOEL
C. HARBINSON Joel C. Harbinson was born February 18, 1954. He is the son of Madeline Campbell Harbinson and the late Rev. Cline W. Harbinson and is the father of two sons, Justin and Jarrett. Joel and his family, which includes his wife, Connie, and her daughter, Alexandria Brinkley, reside in the Bethlehem community of Alexander County. He has been ordained as both a Deacon and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Joel attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1977 with an A.B. degree and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1979 with a J.D. degree. He has been self-employed since 1979 as a criminal, domestic, and personal injury attorney in Taylorsville. In addition, Joel is a certified mediator in Superior Court cases, receiving accreditation from the N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission in 1998, and is a certified arbitrator in District Court cases. Joel is the former President of the 22nd Judicial District Bar Association (1987-1988, 1999-2000) and a member of the American Bar Association, the N.C. Bar Association, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Phi Delta Phi international legal fraternity. He has received an “AV” ranking from Martindale-Hubbell, giving him the highest possible ranking by his fellow attorneys in both competence and ethics. A devoted alumnus of UNC and a sports enthusiast, Joel is a current member of the UNC Educational Foundation, Inc., the UNC School of Law Alumni Association, and a Life Member of the UNC General Alumni Association. He is a past member of the Morehead Scholarship Selection Committee (1979-2002) and the Hickory Metro Sports Commission (2002). In high school at Alexander Central, he was All-Conference in both football (1971) and baseball (1970, 1972). Later, he won the first county tennis tournament in both men’s singles and doubles. In 1985, Joel was selected by the Alexander County Recreation Department as one of several “Living Legends” in the history of Alexander County Sports. On January 22, 2000 at the Taylorsville National Guard Armory, Joel and fellow County Commissioner David Odom defeated professional wrestlers Kane Atoms and Randy Sledge for the coveted “Alexander County Wrestling Belt” in a fund raising event on behalf of a local African-American man injured in a shooting accident. The event was sponsored by The Redneck Club, Inc., a local service organization, which Joel helped to incorporate. On the local level, Joel is a co-founder and board member of the Bob Gryder Scholarship Foundation, Inc. and also served in the past as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alexander County Chamber of Commerce (1993-1996). Since Joel’s younger son, Jarrett, is autistic, Joel has been active in many organizations promoting mental health in particular and health care in general. He has served on the Board of Directors of the N.C. Autism Society (1992-1996) and was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to serve on the Governor’s Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (1997-1999). Joel is the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Alexander Community Hospital (1993-1997). His law office also sponsored a team of disabled children in the Walk n’ Roll Baseball League in Catawba County. Active in politics, Joel is the former Alexander County Attorney (1982-1986, 1992-1994), Taylorsville Town Attorney (1987-1989) and Alexander County School Board Attorney (1981-1998). Also, Joel is a former member of the Alexander County Board of Elections (1992), the former Chairman of the Alexander County Democratic Party (2003), and a former member of the N.C. Democratic Party State Executive Committee (2002-2003). Joel was an unsuccessful candidate for the Office of Lieutenant Governor for North Carolina in the 2000 Democratic Primary. On November 3, 1998, Joel was elected to the office of Board of County Commissioners of Alexander County where he has served as Chairman (1998-1999), (2001-2002), and Vice-Chairman (2000-2001). In his first term as a commissioner, Joel served on the Executive Board of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments. Although he was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in November, 2002, Joel was elected by the Alexander County Board of Commissioners on June 16, 2003 to serve the unexpired term of David Odom, who resigned to accept the position of the Taylorsville Town Manager. Joel presently serves on the Board of the Western North Carolina Local Government Caucus in his capacity as Chairman of the Boards and Commissions Subcommittee. During his term as a county commissioner from 1998 to 2002, Joel, and his fellow Democratic commissioners – John Watts and David Odom – were instrumental in bringing about the following progress in Alexander County: (a) Converted the junior high schools to middle schools and moved the 9th grade to ACHS with the first major renovation to the high school in 30 years ($8.8 million). (b) Built a new Ellendale Elementary School ($6.4 million). (c) Built new classrooms at West Middle (11), East Middle (11), Sugar Loaf (6), and Stony Point (4) at a cost of $3.95 million. (d) Established the first permanent community college in the county with the construction of CVCC – Alexander Center ($1.65 million). (e) Worked with the State to build the Alexander Correctional Institution which is the larges State – funded construction project, outside of road construction, in the history of western North Carolina ($73 million). (f) Worked with the State to build a new juvenile detention center using only State funds ($2.8 million). (g) Built Dusty Ridge Park in the Wittenburg community which is the first multi-purpose county recreational facility in southern Alexander County. (h) Obtained over $2 million in state and federal grants to run waterlines in the Little River, Three Forks, Rink Dam Road, Millersville, and Liledoun areas. (i) Increased local teacher supplements from 1% to 5% (j) Increased local funding for education over 40% (more than 10% per year). (k) Built a new animal shelter at the National Guard Armory. (l) Brokered an arrangement in which the bankrupt Alexander Community Hospital re-opened as Frye Regional Medical Center –Alexander Campus. (m) During each year in office, Alexander County was recognized by the conservative John Locke Foundation as having the lowest local tax burden on its citizens of all 100 North Carolina counties. Visit
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