12/13/07
S’ton hires new town admin
By Jerriod Grizzle

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Bruce Behrens sits behind his new desk at Summerton Town Hall. Behrens began work as town administrator on Dec. 10.

Described as professional, outgoing, warm and a good communicator, Bruce Behrens, 65, has been chosen as Summerton’s new Town Administrator.

Summerton Mayor Jay Bruner said that Behrens comes to the table with qualities that Summerton needs and that the council was looking for in a new administrator.

“We were fortunate enough to have really good candidates apply for the position,” Bruner noted. “Bruce is well-rounded and has years of experience; something we can benefit from,” he said.

Behrens has served in city government since 1972 working as an assistant manager for the city of Winter Park, Florida and most recently, as the city manager for Minneola, Florida.

He served as the town administrator for Bluffton, where he led the town through a series of annexations. Under his leadership, the town grew from one square mile to 47 square miles Bluffton is now the largest municipality in South Carolina.

Behrens said that one of his main reasons for applying for the town administrator position was because of its size.

“I like towns going through growth,” he said. “It is a very neat little town.”

Behrens said that he has a vision for Summerton, one that includes getting people involved.

“This could be a sparkling little town. I would like to see more businesses and more young people,” he said.

Behrens said in his first day as town administrator, he was greeted warmly and saw great enthusiasm.
“I like the people here, everyone is nice and my staff is very upbeat and positive,” he said.

With Christmas 12 days away, Behrens said part of his focus now is getting the town ready for the holidays, including decorating.

“Towns are supposed to have color, something warm and welcoming. The first thing I proposed was to put poinsettias in some places to liven up the town and to put us in the Christmas spirit,” he said.

Behrens said he is already preparing for Friday when Summerton holds their Christmas Parade on Main Street in downtown.

The future holds promise for Summerton and Behrens said he wants to see Summerton grow.

“It is somewhat early to say all that is going to happen. You have the distribution center in Santee that is going to be a huge economic meteor for the surrounding counties,” he said. “You want growth but you also want to preserve that small town atmosphere. You want to develop Main Street and preserve the older parts of town.”

Behrens said that part of the future for Summerton will be looking at the town as a whole, as well as looking at other towns and surrounding counties to see what is happening there.

Behrens is a graduate of Rollins College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government.

He was born in Evanston, Illinois and went to high school in New York. Divorced, he has five grown children.