The face of Walton County changed this morning as the officials you might have voted for were sworn into office.

Many are returning to serve their second and even third terms - for others today was their first day on the job.

But the county commissioners meeting following the ceremony made history for Walton County.

Tuesday morning was a day of firsts for the county officials being sworn into office.

For newly elected commissioner Cecilia Jones this ceremony marked her first day on the job.

Newly Elected Commissioner Cecilia Jones says, "I knew one day I would hold office. Now's the day. I just stepped into it and I'm so excited and so willing to serve the people of Walton County."

Scott Brannon repeated the oath that confirmed his second term as a commissioner.

Brannon had the luxury of running for re-election unopposed-the first time a Walton County commission hasn't been challenged for their seat.
Reelected Commissioner Scott Brannon says, "It's a very humbling feeling. I feel grateful and appreciative to the people in Walton County and to be able to serve them for an additional four years."

But it's what happened after the ceremony that made history.

During a quick commissioners meeting following the morning's events, board members elected Commissioner Sara Comander as the first women to chair the board.

Commander says she hopes her political career will inspire young girls to consider running for office.

Newly Elected Chair Sara Comander says, "Don't let anybody or anything get in your way. Just always keep in mind I'm going to do that one day."

In these hard times, there’s a concern on every officials mind-money.

Everyone from the newly elected commissioner, to the veteran board members, even third-term school board member Mildred Wilkerson agrees budget cuts will challenge everyone in office.

Reelected School Board Member Mildred Wilkerson says, "We will have to do some cutting. But what I would rather do is to rather than to layoff, cut a little bit of salary because if someone is getting some money it's better than no money."

The returning Superintendent Carlene Anderson says despite her concerns, she has confidence that everyone in the county will pull together and come up with creative ways to get their jobs done.

Reelected Superintendent Carlene Anderson says, “We want to maintain what we're doing and do more with less money. That sounds like an impossible task but we're going to work hard to make sure that happens.”

Sheriff elect Michael Adkinson was not sworn into office this morning. He has created a transition team to help with the shift of command. Adkinson will assume the title of Sheriff on January 6th.