Franklin, TN — The University of Tennessee honored Kelli Buchannon, Cumberland County Assessor of Property as a Certified Public Administrator at a Capstone event on June 26, 2025.

A participant must complete 115 credit hours in the County Officials Certificate Training Program (COCTP) to achieve the designation. The program is administered by the UT County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and is available to every county official and county employee in the state.

“This is a unique program that offers a broad continuum of training to county officials and employees to provide them with the knowledge to serve their citizens better,” said Jon Walden, executive director of CTAS.

CTAS is an agency of the statewide UT Institute for Public Service.

Each course in the program is designed to aid county government officials in performing their jobs and efficiently administering county services. Classroom topics include ethics, fire insurance ratings, finance, records management, proactive leadership, and information technology proficiency.

“The program is designed to provide specialized, office-specific, technical, administrative, managerial, and leadership training to elected officials,” Walden said. “The entire program is designed for practicality and to build skills the officials need every day to serve their constituents better.”