Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the second annual Alumni Awards Ceremony held on Monday, May 9, at the McDowell Technical Community College (MTCC) Crane Resistoflex Auditorium.
Commissioner Dobson emphasized the lasting impact MTCC had on his career. The educational opportunities offered by the North Carolina Community College System are an integral part of his continued success as a public official.
“I have been fortunate and blessed over the last 20 years. I have received a few awards, but I don’t know that there is one more special to me than this award,” Commissioner Dobson said. “Had it not been for McDowell Tech, there’s no way I would have been elected McDowell County commissioner, and there’s no way I would have been able to represent my hometown in the state House for eight years, and there’s no way I’d be the Commissioner of Labor.”
Following his graduation from MTCC, Commissioner Dobson enrolled at Gardner-Webb University, earning a Bachelor of Science in social sciences. He then went on to earn a Master of Public Administration from Appalachian State University.
Before being sworn in as North Carolina’s 18th labor commissioner, Commissioner Dobson served two years as a McDowell County Commissioner and eight years in the N.C. House of Representatives. There he represented the state’s 85th district comprised of Avery, McDowell and Mitchell counties. During his time in the legislature, Dobson served as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the House Health Committee.
Commissioner Dobson is a 2003 alumnus of MTCC. He currently resides in Nebo with his wife, Valerie, and his daughter, Kennedy.
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus who has served with exceptional distinction, has sustained, outstanding career success, and/or has earned a superior reputation within his or her career field, or made significant contributions to the college or to the local, state or national community.